


Codename: PRISM

by sad_goomy



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions, Pocket Monsters: Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon | Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Versions
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Lonashipping, Lonashipping Week 2020, Non-Graphic Violence, Self-Indulgent, spy AU, who's ready for spy tomfoolery and two snarky idiots falling in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:00:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25403500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sad_goomy/pseuds/sad_goomy
Summary: Kalos and Kantos’ top spies have spent the past several years locked in rivalry as their countries remain locked in a cold war. However, when they catch wind of a threat to the world brewing in Alola, Gladion and Moon are going to have to put aside their differences in order to go undercover.As a married couple.
Relationships: Gladio | Gladion/Mizuki | Selene (Pokemon Sun & Moon)
Comments: 63
Kudos: 54





	1. Licence to Thrill

_Alizarin Crimson: used by both Unova and Kalos intelligence operatives as code for requesting backup or extraction from a mission gone wrong; often shortened to simply “crimson”_

* * *

The Sinnoh embassy in Slateport City is known for its lavish parties, a sort of olive branch of good faith between the two regions as elite from both spend the night swirling glasses of wine and urging someone to play something on the grand piano downstairs. It’s where the cream of the crop exchange pleasantries and get drunk in the safety of the luxuriously decorated ground floor, of the diplomatic immunity offered to them by the embassy. 

An immunity that’s not extended to a woman in a red dress who slips out of the ballroom and up the stairs, away from the noise of the cocktail hour. The shadows seem to shift to her advantage, the one security guard’s route playing out in real-time in her mind as she side-steps his bored gaze. Her kitten heels are silent against the carpeted floor, steps lithe and sure as she slides into the ambassador’s office, gray eyes scanning the room and finding no security measures in place before they land on the desk. 

Of course, leave it to some washed up politician who’s been sent off to Hoenn as a pseudo-punishment for embezzling tax dollars to overestimate his watchful staff. Moon can't help but smirk at the thought; though to be fair to the ambassador, he hadn’t been expecting to be trusted with so many access codes to the military base under Mt. Coronet on such short notice. Given more time, he surely would’ve thought to post a few more security guards on this floor, maybe at least checked to see if his phone was bugged or stuck the note in a safe rather than a barely hidden notebook. 

_Sloppy,_ Moon thinks with a click of her tongue, evening gloves flipping through planner pages and quickly finding the note card full of nonsense letters and numbers. _This whole thing is so unbearably sloppy. But then what can you expect with the state of S15 under Cyrus?_

As she shuts the planner, sliding it back into the pile of notebooks on the desk, careful to rearrange things exactly as they were, she hears the soft steps of dress shoes in the hall. She straightens, not bothering to move from behind the desk, to even put up an air of innocence as she watches the door open with the knowledge that she isn’t the only one who’s been sent here to take advantage of a mess. 

_Speaking of sloppy..._

He fits the exact profile they gave her as he steps into the office, closing the door shut quickly and quietly behind him: tall and blonde, green eyes betraying his amusement as he adjusts his cuff links. 

Anabel didn’t mention anything about him being this attractive, though. That makes this all the more fun, and that has her smiling as he lifts a brow. 

“If I didn’t know any better, I might say you’re sticking your nose into something you shouldn’t.” 

“Just looking to powder it. Is this not the lady’s room?” She tilts her head, eyes far too wide in faux innocence as the hand not holding the notecard goes to play with the wooden globe on the desk, giving it a half-hearted spin. 

He keeps his eyes on her, and she notes that despite working for Kalos, he seems to lack the accent (though he’s certainly picked up on their general air of disapproval and superiority). “That the best you can come up with?” 

“Saving my best for the ambassador, and not an overgrown Furfrou.” Her hand stops the globe and she looks up with a smirk. “You must be Gladion.” 

Gladion gives something of a nod. “And you must be Moon.” 

She walks around the desk, leaning on it as she crosses her arms, the notecard of codes tucked neatly between her index and middle finger as she sizes up the other agent. He has a good head on her height-wise, but he’s not exactly bulky; should it come down to it, she’s confident she can take him, especially when a shadow in the corner of the room gives her a wink. 

“Let me guess – you have orders to keep me in your sight?” 

“You’ve made it easy.” His eyes travel her form quickly before going back up to her eyes with his own smirk. “The red is rather conspicuous.” 

“Could say the same to you,” she purrs, noting that the dark burgundy of his suit might go nicely with her dress. Part of her wonders if that was the plan, to make them look like a matched set so he could sweep her off somewhere without any questions from the party attendees on the floor below. 

A shame that she spotted him out of the corner of her eye, lurking by the grand piano, and escaped upstairs before he could do just that. 

He takes a step towards her, unbuttoning his suit jacket as his face morphs into something so serious she can’t stand it. Really is a pity that Kalos keeps sending pretty boys after her and they have the nerve to ruin their faces with less-than-intimidating scowls. 

His voice is low but stops short of an outright threat – he's confident, she realizes, far too confident. “Now I think we both know you’re not walking out with those codes.” 

Moon hums, uncrossing her arms and leaning back on the desk, watching as Gladion’s eyes follow the notecard still in her hands. 

“You’ll have to kill me.” 

He’s not the only one who’s far too confident. 

With a frown, he reaches his hand inside his jacket and pulls out a small pistol. 

“Pity.” 

She lets out a low whistle, nonplussed as she stares down the barrel of what is by far the least impressive Saturday night special she’s ever seen. Honestly, she’s a bit offended that he really thinks _this_ is supposed to scare her. “Careful now, that’s a toy for big boys.” 

His grip tightens and his finger just grazes the trigger as his tone becomes clipped. “Hand over the codes.” 

“How about a chemistry lesson instead?” She tilts her head, giving a pleased hum when she spots the slightest crack in his façade, the furrowing of his brows betraying that she’s caught him off guard. Her gaze focuses on the pistol, watching as the faintest shimmer of purple begins to surround it. “While corrosion usually takes a series of electrochemical reactions over time, certain acids may speed up the process. Care for a demonstration?” 

Gladion huffs, “What on earth are–” 

Her Gengar materializes, hand on the pistol and grinning maniacally as the iron turns to rust in a matter of moments. The acid spreads, forcing Gladion to drop it with a curse hissed under his breath, watching helplessly as his only weapon is reduced to a pile of rust quickly spread over the carpet by an errant night breeze through the window. 

By the time he looks back up, face caught between gaping and glaring, Gengar is fading once more, the white of his toothy smile the last to disappear as his owner behind him smiles in a manner not dissimilar. 

“That’s illegal.” 

Technically, he’s correct. The Global Pokémon Visibility Act has outlawed keeping the creatures outside of some sort of containment device and hidden, mostly targeting Ghost type’s ability to become entirely invisible. By all accounts, Moon should’ve been arrested ages ago as a threat to society. 

However, she raises a brow at him. “I have terrible news for you regarding your entire career.” 

His eye twitches and she bites back a laugh, chalking up a premature victory as he reaches for the other side of his holster and steps forward. He pulls out a Pokéball, something bearing the insignia of the Kalosian government, and Moon tenses, body finally entering fight or flight mode (with a weighty emphasis on “fight”). 

“Well you’re not the only one working with a team.” 

She opens her mouth, ready to bark an order to Gengar and start her contingency plan, when voices and two sets of footsteps fill the hallway outside. 

Both agents freeze, locking eyes as they realize while they’ve been busy threatening each other, they’ve forgotten the very real threat of either of them being discovered – a threat that’s now fast approaching. As the voices draw closer, one of them is clearly the ambassador, probably bringing someone up to show off his office. 

Which is something Moon can work with, because she knows for a fact the man is dumb enough to go for a half-baked excuse, and she has one forming in her head. She folds the notecard in half and tucks it into her belt with one hand, using the other to drag Gladion closer to her. His eyes widen for a moment, and then he sees her purposefully messing up her hair and the neckline of her dress, and he catches on. 

The door opens just as his hands wrap around her waist and pull her closer, to a scandalized and thrilled gasp of “Oh my!” 

Moon breaks the kiss, releasing an embarrassed squeak and burying herself into Gladion’s chest in a way that has him struggling to not roll his eyes. “Blushing bride” really doesn’t suit her after he’s seen her true face. He turns, his hands still on her waist as he gives the ambassador and the woman with him a sheepish smile. “Afraid we got a bit carried away. She’s had a little much to drink.” 

She giggles in his arms, and the little hiccup she throws in is a nice touch. For his part, Gladion keeps his own eyes slightly unfocused, face relaxed enough to suggest that he’s been downing the wine in his glass downstairs rather than nursing it the entire night. 

The ambassador smiles and they both know they’re in the clear even before he’s helping usher them out. “Why don’t we call you two kids a cab?” 

They give apologetic smiles and mumbled responses, Gladion helping Moon slide down the desk and keeping a hand on the small of her back as they’re led back down the stairs. True to his word, the ambassador has a butler ring up a taxi, the agents giving him a grateful wave as they step out the front door of the estate. 

Alone once more, Gladion’s hand drops and Moon fixes her hair and dress, taking stock of the quiet night. They’re alone out here as they wait, but there are large windows with the curtains drawn back, allowing the golden glow of the party inside to light the tiled driveway. It also means that releasing Decidueye to deliver the codes would no doubt draw attention, not to mention push Gladion into something rash considering how trigger-happy he’s revealed himself to be. 

She’ll have to bide her time, if only for a little longer. 

“Not half bad back there.” 

Moon pauses in adjusting her gloves, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye and giving Gladion an amused once-over before turning her attention back to fixing her outfit with a smirk. “In reference to my mind or my mouth?” 

The scowl is palpable, his huff fueling the chuckle she can’t quite bite back, and if they had a little more light out here, she might be convinced he’s blushing. His posture is certainly stiff enough to betray him. 

Anabel didn’t mention anything about him being this uptight, and that makes this all the more fun. 

At least it would, if the cab wasn’t pulling up and she got the distinct feeling that after tonight Gladion will become another in a long list of Kalos operatives reassigned to desk duty after failing to stop her. So much for whatever plans she had with him, considering this is just another victory quite literally under her belt. 

She half-expects him to make another move for the notecard, but when the car pulls up, he only opens the door for her, gesturing for her to get inside by herself. There’s a chance that this is a trap somehow, but then it was the ambassador who called for the cab, and she knows for a fact that he’s clueless to this entire operation. 

“Just like that?” she purrs, stepping forward but not quite getting in the back seat. 

He gives her a thin smile, his eyes flickering over to the front door of the estate (and the shadow grinning at him, reminding him of her little failsafe). “Neither of us can risk making any larger of a scene than we already have.” 

“Rare to come across a gentleman these days.” With a hum, she slides into the taxi, watching him gently close the door with a victorious smirk. 

His response is only a polite smile and a nod, and she can feel him keeping his eyes trained on her as she pulls a Pokéball out from her bag and finally recalls Gengar, the driver none the wiser as she gives him an address a few blocks north of her hotel. As the car pulls out and she sits back, she reaches into her belt, mentally preparing to memorize the string of digits and letters. 

Only to find nothing there. 

Her eyes widen, hands going to her bag and checking around the seat. A moment later in her panic, her mind flashes back to the office, when Gladion had his hands on her waist, right around her– 

She turns, looking out the window as he stands at the front door of the embassy, watching her. 

And he gives her a wave, a notecard in his hand. 

“But apparently there’s a surplus of bastards.” 

Moon falls back into her seat with a scowl, because this is the first in a long time that she’s had to come back from a mission empty-handed. 

And she’ll be damned if she doesn’t even the score with the Kalosian pretty boy who caused it. 

* * *

He hasn’t been working under Kalos’ General Directorate of Security for very long, but of one thing is Gladion absolutely sure of: Looker needs to give him a raise after he pulls off this absolutely last-minute drop. The sheer number of messages he’s had to encode and decrypt between himself and everyone else to coordinate this alone should qualify him for overtime. 

At the very least, he has a new café to frequent for clandestine meetings in Lumiose, as he sits at a table outside and waits for his coffee. So far, the nondescript café has been quiet, overlooking a residential street that has just enough traffic to cover up hushed whispers. Flipping through a newspaper, Gladion takes a moment to fish a red handkerchief out of his pocket, dabbing at his brow before leaving it on the table – it's hardly an elaborate signal, but it should be just enough for the other agent to recognize. 

Bar any complete wild cards, then this should go off without a hitch, and he even gets an espresso for his efforts. 

“Coffee for an old friend?” 

The voice is familiar enough to set off alarm bells in his mind, even before he glances up into the saccharine smile of Moon. 

She’s wearing a white leather trench coat and has a large pair of sunglasses propped up on her head, an espresso in her hands that she sets in front of him before taking the seat next to his. He schools his face into a neutral expression, though he very nearly tears the corner when flipping to the next page of his paper. 

Looker hadn’t said anything about Kanto interference, and Gladion’s own networks haven’t mentioned anything about the operative being in Lumiose, but he refuses to give her the satisfaction of the element of surprise. Instead, he reaches for the espresso, taking a sip and giving her an unimpressed once-over. “Don’t tell me they fired you after that botched job; I’d hate to be the end of your career.” 

Her eye twitches, and she slides her sunglasses back over her eyes as she turns her gaze to the street. “No, some people appreciate hard work.” 

Gladion goes back to his paper with a smirk. “Work smarter, not harder.” 

“Oh, you’re just full of witticisms. And hot air.” She leans forward with a scowl, chin resting in the palm of her hand. He hates not being able to pinpoint where she’s looking, and it’s hard to keep his own eyes strictly on the paper. 

At least he’s sure that she’s too incompetent to have gotten intel on the drop. 

“Waiting for someone else, are you?” she purrs, watching him nearly choke on his espresso as her scowl turns into a lopsided smile. 

There’s a chance she’s just looking to rile him up, that she’s acting on a hunch and just hoping he has a tell. Unfortunately for him, he does; fortunately for him, she’s sitting on his right, making it harder to see that his left hand has the slightest tremor before he grips the newspaper just a hair tighter and sets his espresso back on the saucer. 

“Just trying to enjoy my coffee in peace.” 

She sits back, gesturing to herself as she crosses her legs. “And now you can enjoy it with a beautiful woman.” 

He hums. “Let me know when you find one.” 

The absolutely _indignant_ sound that escapes her has him smiling, pressing his nose further into the newspaper to hide it. For Kantos’ top operative, she’s certainly proven entertaining to rile up – if he’s going to cross paths with an enemy agent, at least it’s someone who keeps things interesting. 

With a huff, she stands, hands on the table as she leans towards him so that he can smell the perfume dabbed on her pulse, the same scent of lavender she was wearing when she tugged him in for that impromptu kiss at the embassy. 

An impromptu kiss that he definitely didn’t disclose in his mission report (and definitely didn’t think about extensively after the fact). 

“Well if you won’t appreciate my company, I’ll just have to find someone who will.” 

He peeks over the top of his newspaper to watch her walk down the street, also noting that they’ve caused a bit of a scene, two grandmothers inside the café now whispering clearly about them. At the very least they come off as a lover’s quarrel more than two agents from countries locked in a cold war. 

With a smile to himself, he finishes his espresso, and almost wishes that Moon had stayed just a little longer so he could rub her nose in what a mission gone right looks like. 

Speaking of which, the operative with the briefcase should have made the drop by his table already. He folds the newspaper, glancing casually around the street until his eyes land back on his own table and his stomach sinks. 

The red handkerchief is gone. 

He glances down the street, blood running cold as his mind flickers to when it possibly could’ve fallen off or– 

A white trench coat catches his eye, and his jaw clenches as he watches Moon with a red handkerchief in one hand and a briefcase in the other, walking further and further down the street before turning a corner and disappearing from sight. 

He swears there’s a cunning little smile on her lips when she does, and he knows this might as well be an act of war, if not at the very least the start of a rivalry. 

* * *

Kanto’s illustrious Game Corner is home to high rollers and good times, the epitome of class and decadence in Celadon City. 

It’s also home to the operations of the nefarious Rocket gang and currently the sight of a major shoot-out. 

Women in furs and men in smoking jackets run out screaming, glass shattering behind them as slot machines continue to chirp happy tunes and the roulette wheel keeps spinning as bullets fly. What started as a sting operation has since fallen apart with a Pokémon battle gone awry, and now Gladion finds himself out of bullets and nearly out of luck as he dives behind a slot machine to avoid enemy fire. 

At the same time, Moon’s shrugging off her stole and diving behind the same machine in the hopes of pulling out her secret weapon for one last getaway attempt. 

Their eyes lock, and though the world around them falls apart into chaos, the air between them stops, heavy with what’s been building over the past year, a strange stew of one-upmanship and respect that fizzles and pops as they catch their breath. 

Gladion is the first to break the silence. 

“We have to stop meeting like this.” 

Moon hums, settling behind the machine as their arms brush and she reaches past the slit of her dress to the loaded pistol holstered to her thigh, not missing how his eyes trace the movement in a way he’d no doubt deny should she mention it. 

“If you’d actually drank your champagne then we would’ve.” 

“You’ve gotten too predictable,” he replies easily, as though a bullet hasn’t whizzed past his ear and hit the machine across from them, cracking the screen that boasts a jackpot. 

She gives him a wide smile that has his heart racing with adrenaline for the first time tonight. “Which is why I didn’t put anything in it at all.” 

It takes a moment for him to process, and she takes the opportunity to lean around and shoot the hand of a disguised Rocket member. He watches her, gaping as she turns back to hide behind the machine, missing a shot aimed at her cheek. 

“You conniving little Mismagius – I’ve been avoiding champagne for _months_ because of you!” 

“And this was a damn good one, too.” Her eyes go towards the bar several yards to their left, and he follows, spotting the bottle just as it bursts into a mess of glass and golden liquid, Moon turning back to him with the smoking pistol and a dangerous smirk. “Shame that the last bottle just got caught in the crosshairs of this mess.” 

He raises a brow, no longer surprised at the level of pettiness they’ve stooped to. Instead, he hums thoughtfully, not bothering to hide his admiration. “An excellent shot as always.” 

“Flattery gets you nowhere,” she tuts, trying to use the reflection of the machine in front of them to pick her next target. The rest of her team has managed to make it out, but the Rockets are growing bolder and starting to move closer towards them, having clearly homed in on their hiding spot. 

Gladion picks up a lever that’s been knocked off a slot machine, weighing it in his hands and figuring that it’ll have to do in a pinch as he mumbles, “If I recall correctly, it managed to land me in your bed.” 

“Once.” She turns and gets two shots into the leg of a waiter with a tommy gun approaching them, sending him falling to the ground as she turns to give the other agent a scowl. “And if _I_ recall correctly, you weren’t exactly immune to my own charms.” 

Rather than respond immediately, he tosses the lever once in his hands, then swings it straight into the leg of another Rocket member attempting to ambush them, watching as he gets knocked forward right into the marble floor, his head making contact and knocking him out. 

Moon’s sitting back against the machine once more, so that they’re inches apart as she hikes the slit of her dress up further, revealing a band of tiny darts the size of bullets. As she reloads her pistol with them, Gladion watches with curiosity and a trace of irritation creeping into his voice. “Shame about you having to run out in the morning.” 

She lets out a one-note laugh that falls flat, cocking the barrel back into place as she leans in a hair closer so that the scent of her lavender perfume threatens to take over all five of his senses. “Pity about you trying to rifle through my things and not even finding Rose’s itinerary.” 

“You’re rather adept at low blows.” 

Her eyes widen for a moment as she barely bites back a chuckle. “My, my, was that a double entendre? Don’t tell me I’m corrupting Kalos’ golden boy.” 

He rolls his eyes, and it delights her to no end that even with how many times they cross paths and everything she’s seen of him, he still holds onto this propriety like a real gentleman. “Don’t hold your breath.” 

She lifts the pistol, loaded and ready, watching as his eyes flicker to it and she smiles sweetly. “Chemistry lesson – what happens when you inject a human with a modified dosage of Taurus tranquilizer?” 

“Something terrible but hopefully non-lethal?” he asks, unable to keep his voice from pitching upwards at the end in a mix of hope and a plead. 

“Duck.” 

Without another word he does, and she hits the Rocket agent who was aiming for him right in the neck. They watch as he struggles to get her poison dart out, only to slump forward a moment later. Gladion turns, not quite surprised that she helped him, and yet still a little shocked that she didn’t take the easy shot as he mumbles, “Thanks.” 

“You’re welcome.” Her gaze goes behind him for just a second, and then she’s standing with a smirk. “And also, my apologies.” 

Before he can question it, he senses the chill in the air, can feel the tongue materializing and sending his body into stasis as he slumps forward, paralyzed and watching as her Gengar floats around to face him, giving him a smile before disappearing into the shadows of the casino. 

Because of _course_ she goes and pulls this trick. 

Again. 

Moon winks, adjusting her grip on her pistol turned blow dart. “Don’t worry, he doesn’t kiss and tell.” 

As she turns and makes a dash for the exit, knocking out another Rocket goon on the way, he’s left to watch her, stomach sinking at the realization that he’ll have to call in Looker for back-up, and he doesn’t know how to begin to explain this mess of a situation. 

So he shouts all that he can think of after her and that stupid Gengar. 

“That’s still illegal!” 

And she parries with a laugh in this little game they’ve set up for themselves, “I still don’t care!” 

* * *

“Are you following so far?” 

Looker pauses in the briefing, and though Gladion knows he should look up at him from across the desk, all he can do is stare at the photo in the manila folder. 

A photo of Lusamine, his estranged mother who he hasn’t seen in a decade, has been dutifully avoiding, and even went to Kalos, the other side of the planet, just to never see again. 

But these things always come back, and he always had a feeling she’d turn into a full supervillain. Never mind that it was mostly based on personal bias and what little he glimpsed when he nabbed Type:Null – now she’s gone and stolen research on an international scale, revealing too much of her hand which includes some convoluted plan to end the world. 

She’s never been one to half-ass things. 

“Straightforward enough.” As straightforward as a mission to retrieve that stolen research can be at this point. He snaps the folder closed so that he’ll stop staring at those empty eyes that still haunt him. His brows furrow as he thinks for a moment, mumbling, “The business of having eloped, though...I’m assuming I’ll need to be bringing a wife with me. Who will I be working with?” 

Looker nods, resting his elbows on the desk as he stares at his own briefing notes with a frown. “Well, strange and desperate times call for strange bedfellows, I’m afraid. You see, Alola is relatively neutral territory, and due to the nature of the threat, along with some various intel, we’ve worked out something rather tenuous with Kanto.” 

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” The sheer mention of the enemy pushes a humorless laugh out of him; he joined the GDS to have a clear purpose for once, and just when he gets a handle on who’s the enemy they go and flip it on its head. 

“No joke to be found here. They were the ones who tipped us off to Lusamine’s possible plan in the first place, specifically requesting you once they found the familial connection.” 

“I’m working with a KIS operative, then?” Looker nods, and Gladion sits back in his armchair, trying to discern the lines on the older man’s face with how dimly lit the office remains. There’s a dread creeping up his spine, one he’s almost as desperate to ignore as the flutter of hope trying to take flight in his chest. “Who?” 

He holds his gaze for a moment longer, and then Looker is leaning forward, pressing a button on the intercom with a sigh. 

“Clear to enter, Anabel.” 

Gladion turns in his seat just in time to watch the door open, revealing a woman in a suit he’s never met before and another in a miniskirt that he’s had the (dis)pleasure of meeting far too many times. 

“No.” 

Moon rolls her eyes, breezing towards him to take a seat in the armchair next to him, plopping herself down with the usual laissez faire confidence he’s come to associate with her as she spits, “Believe me, I’m not thrilled either.” 

As Anabel walks past them both to join Looker behind the desk, Gladion turning his glare to both of them. “Are there any practical reasons why she’s been chosen?” 

“Whose research do you think was stolen?” Moon leans her head against her hand, not even bothering to look at the Kalos operative out of the corner of her eye because she can already picture the combination of surprise and confusion on his face. As if he’s the only one with a story before the subterfuge. 

“Both of you need to stand down.” Anabel narrows her eyes, her voice a ray of frost that freezes both of them, forces them to hunch slightly as they listen to her sigh and scold. “This is a matter of life and death not just for our nations, but for the world. I’m aware of the history between you two, but there’s no one else we can pair up for this mission; Gladion is the only one with a strong and quick enough ‘in,’ while Moon will be the only one to recognize what we’re looking for even if it’s encrypted.” 

She looks between the two of them, letting the words sink in and sufficiently shame them before she pinches the bridge of her nose. Even Looker feels chastised, reduced to awkwardly rearranging his notes and keeping his eyes down. 

“No one is happy with this arrangement, but being disgruntled is certainly better than being dead, which is how we’ll all end up if you two allow whatever pettiness exists between you to cloud your mission. Is that understood?” 

Anabel waits, watching as the young man and woman sitting before her seem to remember themselves, sheepishly nodding. Her face finally softens, though it’s no less serious as she turns her gaze to Looker sitting next to where she stands. “Now then Looker, if you’d be so kind as to continue.” 

He clears his throat. “Right.” 

Moon is quickly passed a manila folder, though she received her own briefing at Kanto and Johto’s combined headquarters earlier this week. As Looker goes on with the details, Anabel occasionally chiming in with further explanation, Moon begins tapping the edge of the folder with her red nails. 

It’s a rhythm that takes Gladion only a second to decode and has his body stiffening in indignation when he does. 

_Furfrou_

He sends his own message back with a few taps, biting back a smirk when he can see the recognition in her eyes turn to absolute annoyance. 

_Mismagius_

And unbeknownst to either of them, now caught up in trading Morse code insults, Anabel and Looker catch on and share a look, Anabel sighing as she taps out her own message for him. 

_Doomed_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let's kick off Lonaweek 2020 the only way I know how - banter and complicating an already messy relationship
> 
> (don't look at the actual science of anything mentioned, it's being written by someone who had to google the definition of "corrosion" and then proceeded to get confused after reading two wikipedia articles)


	2. Aether Is Forever

_Midnight blue: used in the partnership between Kanto and Johto undercover intelligence teams to refer to a period in a field mission between contact points for the agents involved, in which they cannot make contact with handlers; often also known as “going dark”_

* * *

The flight to Alola exhausts Gladion, doubly so with having to keep up the act of being a newlywed. By the time they make their way to the private boat to Aether Paradise with luggage in tow, the sun has long set and Gladion's cheeks hurt from smiling as he thanks the boat driver for congratulating him on getting married. In his time away, he’s forgotten that news, even if delivered in a letter meant only for his sister to announce his return, spreads fast on the islands; it seems like he can’t go five feet without someone recognizing and congratulating him. 

On the one hand, it’ll help solidify the act. 

On the other, it’s an act, and on top of sore cheeks he’s going to have a headache with the whiplash of having Moon – Selene to everyone else in order to avoid detection – hanging on his arm, smiling at him. 

He should’ve packed ibuprofen. 

The cool sea breeze as he stands on the dock of the boat helps, along with the lack of audience. Only two crewmen are with them on the small ferry, and Moon has taken it upon herself to become their friend. He can hear them all laugh as he leans on the railing, unable to stop from rolling his eyes. While he prefers a subtle approach, finding the peacocking tiring, she’s always favored trying to get an in with those around her while hiding in plain sight. 

Both methods have their merits, sure, but as the long day of travel and playing house catches up to him, Gladion thinks that engaging in any sort of conversation at this point would end in him throwing himself off this boat. 

He nearly does when he hears footsteps approaching and turns to see Moon. She doesn’t spare him much of a glance, instead taking the spot next to him and leaning on the railing. When he turns to look back out at the expanse of sea melting into the night sky, he half-expects her to try and strike up a conversation, but instead she remains silent, letting the sound of waves against the hull fill the space between them. He can feel her body relaxing, releasing some tension as her posture slouches for the first time in hours. 

Evidently, he isn’t the only one who’s exhausted. 

Still, the bulk of their performance is yet to come, a fact he’s reminded of when the white marble of Aether comes into view. It looks ethereal in the moonlight, or perhaps ghostly is a better word, as he feels a familiar sense of dread twisting his stomach and haunting his mind once more. Old memories of covering family portraits, of nights spent holding his little sister and promising her things he couldn’t even promise himself. 

The sensation of Moon’s fingers intertwining with his snaps him out of his thoughts. He glances down, watching her as she leans her head against his arm, and he tries to decipher who this is for when no one else is watching. 

“Nervous?” 

He makes a show of scoffing. “I never am.” 

“From one liar to another,” she hums, bringing his shaking left hand up to her lips as she whispers into the skin with a wink, “You need to work on your tell.” 

Then she’s bringing his hand back down but still holding it, and he doesn’t say anything about it, instead turning his attention to watch Aether Paradise grow closer, focusing on keeping his breath even and squeezing her hand until the tremor dissipates. 

It’s only when the boat docks and Gladion goes to help with their luggage that he releases her hand, the two taking about two steps onto Aether Paradise before a blur of white and blonde comes straight for Gladion, sending the man stumbling back as the luggage in his hand swings. 

Moon lets out a stunned chuckle, watching with a lopsided smile as a young woman with a striking resemblance to Gladion hugs the air out of his lungs before pulling back with a frown and a fire in her eyes. 

“Not even _one_ phone call?” She gives her brother’s head a light smack, just hard enough to make her point as he winces and she barrels on with her hands on her hips, “I was worried sick about you and all I get are cryptic letters. Then you only visit after going and getting married – you don’t think I wanted to be there?” 

Gladion lets out a sigh, shoulders sagging as he musters up an apologetic smile that can’t quite contain all the years of touch and go communication. “I’m sorry, Lillie. Truly.” 

Her pout lasts about a second longer before she’s pulling him back into a hug, shutting her eyes tight as she whispers, “I missed you.” 

“I missed you, too.” He does his best to hug her back, despite the trunk in one of his hands, and finds that it’s increasingly hard to let go, thoughts of having to leave without her again already plaguing his mind. 

Still, he can feel the stares and knows this isn’t the place. Lillie must get the sense, too, as she pulls back and turns to face the other young woman with a bashful smile, clearing her throat. “This must be Selene.” 

“Pleasure to meet you, Lillie.” Moon looks at him out of the corner of her eye before going back to his sister with a smile. “Glad’s told me so much about you.” 

Part of their debriefing was going through his family tree, and so he’s told her too much about Lillie for his liking. It’s why her smile knows far too much, and he’s stuck smiling back and hoping she can see whatever threat is in his eyes. 

Lillie pouts as she looks between the two, none the wiser as her gaze settles on Moon. “And he’s told me nothing about you, so we’ll have to fix that right away.” 

Moon laughs, and Gladion smirks, masking the panic as he mumbles, “Can’t you let her unpack first?” 

“I’m afraid that will have to come later.” The three of them turn to find Wicke, who’d followed behind Lillie and was content to remain quiet up until now. Gladion nearly smiles at the sight of her, a rush of familiarity warming his chest, but then he sees the grim look on her face and feels his stomach plummet. “Lusamine has asked to speak with you privately as soon as you arrived.” 

He grips the trunk handle tighter, and Moon doesn’t miss a beat as she smooths out her skirt, ready to take her place by his side. “Suppose it’s about time I meet my mother-in-law.” 

“She specified that she only wishes to speak to Master Gladion.” 

Gladion freezes, because a conversation with Lusamine was expected – a conversation _alone_ sounds like the basis of most of his nightmares. At the very least, it’s a small wrench in the works for their plan, one that Moon is the first to recover from. She gives Wicke a nod, and then reaches for the trunk handle, fingers brushing lightly against Gladion’s before he passes it off to her. 

“I’ll see you soon, then.” She gives him a smile, something warm and reassuring that he’s only seen from her once before. 

He blinks, wondering if he’s imagined it, and then Lillie’s leading her away and Wicke is leading him further into the main building, past a half-awake receptionist and to an elevator that requires a key card to swipe. 

It then takes twenty minutes to walk down a hallway because he’s patted down twice by Aether employees who look unhappier than him to be doing it. When he mutters about it to Wicke, she mentions something about Lusamine wanting to increase security, reassures him that this isn’t standard protocol. 

After two knocks on the door, Wicke cracks it open, ushering Gladion inside the office. 

His mother looks exactly as she did the day he left, to the point that he’s almost sure he’s dreaming, the vertigo of his body falling while falling asleep kicking in. However, while she hasn’t aged a day sitting behind her desk with her Clefable at her side, Faba is there for reference, and the years have been less than kind. His glasses have gotten bigger, though the green tint doesn’t lessen the glare he sends Gladion’s way. 

“Miss Lusamine, I hope we aren’t interrupting, but Gladion has arrived.” 

_First name,_ he notes, chewing his cheek, _Guess_ _she isn’t keen to go back on the disownment._

“Thank you, Wicke.” Lusamine inclines her head, and Wicke gives a hollow smile before stepping out. His mother turns her attention back to her desk, sliding a titanium briefcase towards Faba as her tight smile chills the room. “We’ll continue this discussion later.” 

Faba nods stiffly, picking up the briefcase before making his way to the door, not bothering to hide his sneer. 

“So _lovely_ to see you again, young Gladion.” 

Even before he was complicit in a plot to destroy the world, Faba has held a special, hateful spot in Gladion’s heart. 

“The feeling is mutual, old Faba.” 

The deadpan is hard to maintain with the scowl that Faba is throwing at him, huffing and stomping past while Gladion bites back a chuckle. When the office door slams shut behind him dramatically, however, all that’s left is an icy silence, nothing in the vast, empty space of the office left to soak it up besides Gladion’s skin. 

_Ten years and she can’t even be bothered to throw down a rug to break up the white monotony of this place,_ he thinks, nearly rolling his eyes but stopping himself because he knows that’s the last thing Lusamine would appreciate. 

She places a hand on her Clefable’s head in a move that might be mistaken for endearing, if he didn’t know by now that the creature is a walking lie detector. Lusamine’s raised it to use its superpowered hearing to pick up heart rates and other barely audible signs of lying, no matter how minute. 

One wrong move here, and this whole operation falls apart before it even starts. 

Luckily for him, he’s built an entire career on lying, and he has just the half-truths to feed Clefable waiting in his back pocket. 

Lusamine keeps her eyes trained on him, with the same look she used to give him when she couldn’t quite catch him sneaking out as a teenager but was looking for something to pin on him anyway. "I want to make it clear that you’re lucky I’ve let you anywhere near here.” 

“I realize that.” 

“You’re Lillie’s guest. As such, I’ll provide you meals and a room while you’re here and extend the invitation to appropriate events – even _that_ is a kindness you frankly don’t deserve from me.” Her nails tap along her desk, something cold and staccato that scratches directly at his brain, and he hates that it’s this tiny tic that has him trying not to shake again, trying to remember why he’s here and not running right out the door. 

“Still, I’m willing to...overlook what’s happened for her sake, provided you stay in line and prove to me that you’re going to do the same.” 

He raises a brow. “You don’t trust me.” 

Her nails stop. 

“I only trust family.” 

Never mind that she’s the one who disowned him all those years ago; though, it’s not like he wanted anything to do with the family name by the time he was sixteen. At that point, he hardly even lived here. This was never going to be a homecoming, but the reminder has him sighing, seeing right past what little pleasantry she’s put up to try and hide the resentment that’s been stewing within her ever since his father disappeared. 

“I’m not looking for trouble.” 

Simple and technically true, he watches as her eyes narrow at the statement regardless, her grip on Clefable tightening enough that the poor thing winces. Winces, but gives no other indication, because he’s not lying, and he thinks on his next words carefully to keep it that way. 

“I didn’t just come for Lillie, you know. Selene wanted your approval, and I want to at least try and make amends for some of what happened,” he explains, and it’s hinging so delicately on technicalities that he briefly considers switching career paths to pursue tightrope-walking. Because yes, he’s imagined what it might be like to reconcile with his mother, but that all depends on her being willing to let go of this plan, to see the error of her ways and work on building herself rather than destroying everyone around her. 

And he knows he inherited his stubbornness from her, so he’s not holding his breath. 

She raises a brow before leaning forward with a smile. 

“And I want my Type:Null back.” 

His blood runs cold and he prepares himself for a real fight. Technically, he doesn’t have Type:Null – not since he evolved into Silvally several years ago. However, that Pokéball is tucked away in a hidden compartment in the suitcase, and it wouldn’t take much of a search to find it. The problem is that he’d only let her take it over his dead body, something that she might not hesitate over anymore. 

But something like resignation passes over face, and she’s petting Clefable’s head with a sigh. “I suppose neither of us are going to get what we want.” 

He releases a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, watching as Clefable’s ear twitches in response. “Please just think on it – for Selene’s sake.” 

Lusamine sneers, her attention already back to the paperwork on her desk. “Why? Did you knock her up and she’s hoping to squeeze some cash for it out of a mother-in-law?” 

“You will _not_ speak about her that way.” 

It comes out far harsher than he intended, has his mother blinking back shock at the outburst as Clefable flinches. He takes a deep breath, forcing his blood to simmer rather than boil and no longer sure just where this anger is welling from. She’s struck a nerve with the comment, with trying to reduce the only operative who’s ever given him a run for his money as some gold-digger. “Disrespect me all you want, but don’t drag her into it.” 

“My apologies.” Her tone is far from apologetic, instead irritated at how he puffs out his chest. 

“I think this discussion is over.” 

Her eyes narrow, and then she’s marking up the paper in her hands with a blue pen, not even sparing his tantrum a glance as he storms out the door. “Yes, it is.” 

Wicke is waiting for him in the hallway, and his expression must be something fierce with the sympathetic look she gives him. She doesn’t say anything, however, and for that he’s grateful as he follows her back through Aether and to the house on the back of the property. By the time they reach the guest room he’ll be staying in on the second floor, he’s calmed down, reminded of the mission at hand and that as much as his mother thinks she’s stacked the deck, she still clearly has no idea that he’s holding the winning hand. 

With what he can muster of a smile, he thanks Wicke, and she bows, leaving him to rest for the night. When he opens the door, he finds Lillie sitting on the edge of the four-poster bed, hiding her smile behind her hands as Moon unpacks the open trunk on the bed, walking towards the armoire in the corner while waving the blouse wildly in her hand. Clearly, she’s halfway through a story, pausing only to hang up the shirt and glance over at the door opening. 

She’s quick to dissect him at this point, taking all of three seconds to get past his façade before mumbling, “Didn’t go well?” 

“About as well as it could have gone, actually.” He walks towards the bed, just catching the glance that his sister and Moon share. Clearly, in the time that the disaster of a conversation with Lusamine unfolded, these two have become thick as thieves. It’s not at all as surprising as it should be now that he thinks on it; they both have quick minds and Lillie’s certainly been waiting to let out the snarky streak within her that their mother forces her to hide. 

Lillie watches him walk towards where she sits next to the suitcase, beginning to fuss with her sleeve. “I can speak to mother about it, I’m sure with a little time she’ll come to–” 

“Don’t worry about it.” He smirks, giving her hair a tousle that she doesn’t appreciate, her scowl fueling his smile as he turns his attention to unpacking. “And I didn’t mean to interrupt.” 

“Oh, Selene was just telling me about the first time you two met – sneaking around at parties and kissing strangers, what a far cry from when we were kids!” Lillie gives him an eyebrow waggle, and Gladion pauses, collared shirt in his hands as he looks over to where Moon’s taken a seat in an armchair. 

“You told her about that?” 

She hums, tilting her head as she busies herself with her fingernails. “Included the part about how I couldn’t get you out of my head for days afterwards if it makes you feel better.” 

As he begins to unpack, he finds he can’t quit grasp the hidden meaning of her words. Whatever rivalry they’ve set up for themselves has crossed every boundary several times, and by now completely alludes definition with everything that’s transpired between them. “Couldn’t get you out of my head,” therefore, could be anywhere in the range of “plotting up your demise” to “best kiss of my life.” 

And unfortunately for him, she’s also a professional liar. 

Arceus, he really should have packed ibuprofen. 

“Was he the type to pull on pigtails?” Moon asks as he finishes hanging up a suit, looking between him and his sister. 

Lillie giggles, nodding with an impish spark in her eyes. “The worst at it, too. Always picking fights – that's how you could tell he was stuck on a girl.” 

“Seems like not much has changed.” 

He scoffs, sliding the drawer that’s now home to the rest of his clothing closed. When he turns to give Moon a warning look for the comment, he finds that she’s staring him down with a challenge in her smirk, clearly not finding the idea as ridiculous as he does. He opens his mouth to argue it, but then finds he can’t come up with much; he’s done too much mental gymnastics today to even attempt the pole vault of justifying how he could have no interest in her with the amount of blatant flirting they’ve engaged in. 

“It’s getting rather late. I should let you all get some rest.” However their silent conversation reads to Lillie is certainly scandalous with how she glances between the two, hopping off the bed and making her way to the door. She pauses by her brother, giving his cheek a hard poke as she huffs, “Especially since I haven’t let you off the hook yet and will be doing a full interrogation tomorrow.” 

He rubs his cheek, rolling his eyes but unable to fight the smile tugging at his lips for long. “Looking forward to it.” 

She grins back, and there’s another round of goodbyes as she shuts the door behind her, leaving the two agents truly alone for the first time all day. 

Gladion sighs for the thousandth time in an hour, and goes to the trunk, doing his best to ignore the migraine coming on with having to deal with a fake relationship on top of his estranged mother. All that’s left is for him to place two Pokéballs on the tray provided on the unclaimed nightstand. He keeps Silvally hidden away in the suitcase for now, and slides it under the bed, making a mental promise to try and find a safe spot away from Aether and Moon to release him at some point to stretch his legs. 

Moon remains seated, and he realizes now that she’s changed into a nightgown, the longer silk robe on top falling open to reveal her legs. 

“Room is clear of bugs, by the way.” 

He grunts, getting out his own pajamas as he gives her a thin smile. “Fantastic, so there won’t be a record of me chewing you out for trying to get my sister involved.” 

She rolls her eyes, standing as he heads into the adjoining bathroom to start getting ready, keeping the door open but remaining out of her sight as she sits on her side of the bed. “Quit growling, Furfrou. She doesn’t suspect a thing and I’m not going to get random civilians involved in a delicate operation.” 

“Isn’t that what KIS does best?” he shouts as he splashes his face with cold water from the sink. 

“Stones in glass houses, GDS.” Moon lies on top of the covers, rolling onto her side and propping her head up on a pillow as she watches him brush his teeth. She waits, averting her eyes when he goes to spit, and then he’s completely out of sight once more, no doubt changing and being such a gentleman to spare her the sight. As he does, the question she’s been holding onto ever since their initial briefing pops back into her head, and she figures now, when he can’t escape, is a good time to ask. 

“Why Kalos, anyway? I thought it might’ve been patriotism, but then I find out you were born here.” 

“We have citizenship, and I wanted a change of scenery.” He emerges from the bathroom, turning the lights off behind him and going to the armoire to hang up his shirt. “Why Kanto?” 

She rolls onto her back, stretching her arms above her head with a thoughtful hum. “Because my brother’s dragging the family name through the mud by becoming an international arms dealer, so I joined KIS in a misguided attempt to clear it.” 

His body freezes halfway through putting his pants back in the dresser. When he looks over at her, expecting to find a wide, mischievous grin, he only finds her blank expression waiting for his reply. 

“That’s...not a joke.” 

“Your observational skills never cease to impress.” She rolls her eyes, tsking at the ceiling before sitting up. “Seriously, you didn’t know? Fire whoever put my profile together then – it's not even a secret at this point.” 

The offended noise Gladion wants to make gets stuck in his throat, and Moon tilts her head, matching up everything in KIS’s file on him with how his shoulders haven’t relaxed once since they’ve arrived, how he’s clearly popped several gaskets after just one encounter with his mother. Not to mention the mysterious disappearance of his father and his brief stint with a local gang here in Alola. 

She stands, going to the small desk in the corner of the room as she says with a feigned sigh of disappointment, “Of course, your family drama manages to blow mine out of the water.” 

He closes the dresser with a self-deprecating smirk. “Just another way I best you, I suppose.” There’s something to her laugh that bothers him, and he gives her a raised brow as she shrugs off her robe. “What?” 

She glances at him over her shoulder, giving him the briefest glimpse of her smile before she’s turning back to lay her robe on the back of the desk chair. 

“Just felt a tug on my pigtail.” 

It’s playful and domestic and incriminating in ways it shouldn’t be, leaving Gladion to clear his throat and ignore it entirely. “Speaking of family drama, we’re on thin ice here, as expected. I wouldn’t be surprised if we have a babysitter with us at all times.” 

“Noted. Anything else?” 

As she walks back to her side of the bed, he goes to the armchair, pulling up the ottoman closer to it. 

“She transferred the research from her office to the labs. Whatever extra security measures she keeps in place around her office will be a diversion for us, to see if we go for the bait.” 

Moon raises a brow, sliding under the covers. “You’re sure of that?” 

“Unfortunately, I’m all too familiar with her tricks.” 

“That why you learned your own?” 

She’s grinning like she got him, on her stomach and resting her chin on the palm of her hand. His brows furrow as he finishes fluffing up the throw pillow on the armchair, sitting down as he huffs with finality, “We’re not having this conversation.” 

“Would you prefer something else for pillow talk?” Her expression falters as she watches him try and lay down in the chair, struggling to get comfortable with his legs dangling off the ottoman and his back scrunched up. “What on earth are you doing?” 

“You can take the bed tonight. I assume we’ll switch off.” 

Her eyes widen in understanding for a moment, and then she’s falling onto her back, laughter filling the air as he tries to keep whatever dignity he can have in this position intact. She glances over at his pitiful display of chivalry, raising a brow as she purrs, “We’ve shared a bed before, and we weren’t even married then.” 

He fixes her with a look. “You don’t trust me.” 

“Not quite,” she concedes, seeing at least part of his logic, especially given what happened after that night in Wydnon. Still, her face softens into something pensive, gray eyes going right through him. “But I _know_ you, and I know you wouldn’t jeopardize this mission for a cheap shot at taking me down.” 

The silence stretches, but the longer he sits in it (and in this frankly uncomfortable armchair), the more reasonable she’s starting to sound. It helps that the prospect of waking up with a sore back for the sake of a false sense of security isn’t all that enticing, either. 

As he stands, she leans over to her nightstand and turns off the light, casting her in shadow as with the curtains drawn, the only light in the room comes from the warm glow of the lamp on his nightstand. 

“Unless you don’t trust me.” 

Gladion pauses at the side of the bed, eyes flickering from her form to the shadow she casts on the wall behind her. 

“Well I don’t trust your Gengar.” 

She blinks, and chuckles under her breath because as much as she can see through him, he can turn just the same piercing gaze on her. As he pulls back the covers, she leans over to her own tray of three Pokéballs on the nightstand and presses the center button on one to recall Gengar from the very spot Gladion looked at. 

“Now it’s just me,” she mumbles, sliding back into bed and looking up at him with a far too innocent expression. 

His mind briefly flashes to the last time she looked up at him from a pillow, but he shakes the thought out, careful to get into bed without going over the imaginary line dividing them. 

“That I can handle.” 

With her face half-buried in the pillow and eyes half-lidded, she smiles, sweet yet venomous. 

“You sure?” 

He only turns out the light, leaving them in the dark blue, nearly black of night as they face opposite sides of the room and he realizes that with her warmth so close, he’s not sure of the answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me using "Selene" as Moon's fake name in this fic is my meaningless protest of refusing to use the canon in-game names
> 
> this is the hill I choose to die on


	3. The Man with the Golden Smile

_Black: a term used by Hoenn agents to refer to when an operative in the field is getting through a mission without being made_

* * *

Gladion sits in the armchair of the guest bedroom, tying his dress shoes as Moon continues to be a flurry of movement in her robe, her hair half-pinned and make-up mostly done as she searches for her heels in a huff. The fact that they’re being forced to waste an evening at a dinner party to keep up appearances is bad enough, but on top of that they received a hasty encrypted message from Anabel and Looker regarding a sudden change to their handler. 

“Nanu wouldn’t have dropped if GDS wasn’t involved.” 

“You wouldn’t be here in the first place if GDS wasn’t involved,” Gladion retorts, sitting up and adjusting his cuff links as he watches her put on an earring while storming into the bathroom to change. “At any rate, if he’s met Lillie before then there should be plenty of opportunities to rendezvous – unless of course, we end up missing the whole thing with how long you’re taking.” 

She closes the bathroom door, voice muffled but no less cutting. “Not my fault you were hogging the mirror to fuss with your hair.” 

“One of us has to look presentable, considering your track record with cocktail hours.” He rolls his eyes, thinking back on the half dozen missions where he’s stumbled across her after a shot too many. Still, no matter how talkative the alcohol made her, he could never pry anything out besides shameless flirting that had his cheeks flushing. 

With her hair finished and the black gown on, Moon pokes her head out of the bathroom with a smirk. “Would’ve thought you’d be in favor of it. After all, isn’t it the basis of Kalosian espionage to brood over glasses of red wine?” 

“It most certainly isn’t.” 

“Just you, then.” She chuckles at his glower, stepping out of the bathroom and presenting her back to him as she made final adjustments to her hair. “Zip me up?” 

The zipper of her dress travels low, all the way to the small of her back. Black silky material parts to reveal bare skin and a band of lace on her upper back. It’s not anything he hasn’t seen before, but as he steps forward, he finds his throat growing tight, left hand ghosting along her hip to keep the fabric in place. 

He realizes too late that he’s stepped too close, her lavender perfume drawing him in. Her back straightens, and he watches the shiver travel down her spine as he starts dragging the zipper up. His fingers linger there, toying with the line of fabric where it meets her skin, enjoying the barely audible sigh it draws from her. 

His left hand tightens on her hip just as she looks at him over her shoulder, gray eyes torn between a bad idea and good sense. 

“Don’t get lost now.” 

It comes out far breathier than she intended, teasing and lilting in ways that are dangerous and have him snapping out of the moment, just enough to step back and offer her his arm with what he can muster of a neutral expression. 

“Are you finally ready?” 

She wraps her arm around his, and he feels the warmth through the fabric, his black sleeve seeming to soak it up and threaten to overheat him. Their eyes lock, and something’s been set off that they can no longer control, whether from the charade or the close quarters. 

With a deep breath she steadies herself once more, mumbling through a smirk, “As I’ll ever be.” 

* * *

Etiquette dictates that they’re seated across from each other, which Moon wouldn’t mind if the people on either side of her didn’t also possess the absolute blandest personalities. She picks at her food throughout dinner, smiling and trying to be polite in making small talk, but the few times she chimes in with a slightly off-color remark or a question that cuts through the pleasantries, they stare at her like she’s grown a second head. 

There’s a tap on her foot the third time it happens, and she looks across the table to find Gladion looking to her with raised brows, a conspiratorial smile on his face as he takes a sip from his wine glass. 

This isn’t his first dreadful dinner party, so he’s more than attuned to picking up the tell-tale signs of boredom on Moon’s face. 

She hides her grin, looking down at her plate and twirling the fork in her fingers before she looks back up at him, gesturing towards her eye with it as she sticks out her tongue quickly, hinting at the fate she’d much rather have than listening to old money drone on. 

He nearly chokes on his water, wiping at his mouth with a napkin and leaving a little knowing smile behind. In response, he picks up one of the knives next to his plate and subtly points it towards the woman on his right, dressed in furs and laughing about some second-rate gossip, and gives a little jabbing motion, raising his brows in question. 

With puckered lips, Moon considers the proposal before giving him a quick nod, and Gladion’s about to mouth something silently to her when Lillie tugs on his sleeve, bringing him into the conversation happening on the other side of the table and leaving Moon to go back to her meal with a lopsided grin. 

“Enjoy the honeymoon while it lasts.” She glances over at the older gentleman sitting on her left, who’s giving her this thin-lipped, downright condescending smile as he glances between her and Gladion. “A few more years and you start driving each other up the wall.” 

She briefly considers trying to get the attention of the man’s wife to offer her sincerest condolences, but she settles instead on a tight smile back as she says, “We’ve been doing that since day one. It’s how we flirt.” 

Not entirely untrue, at least on her end (and the jury is still out on Gladion’s end but after her conversation with Lillie it’s looking like a guilty verdict). 

The oil tycoon whose name she hasn’t bothered to learn nor remember gives an impatient laugh. “You’ll get tired of it eventually, but that’s marriage.” 

It’s always the same shtick with these types, referring to their spouses as the “ball and chain,” talking about how they can’t stand one another but doing it with a laugh to disguise the pain of a genuinely unhappy marriage that no amount of money can fix. When she first started going on field missions to dinner parties and cocktail hours like these, it was at least entertaining to laugh about it all to herself, but by now it’s grown old and making her realize that her and Gladion’s marriage is still somehow the least fake at the table. 

So it’s little wonder that when some stranger is trying to compare his loveless marriage to the heiress with the biggest fortune he could find to the one thing she still looks forward to after joining KIS, she reeally does just about stab herself in the eye with a fork. 

“No, I don’t think we will,” she snaps back, reaching for her wine glass with a shrug as she smiles far too sweetly over the rim. “But that’s us.” 

Her seatmates don’t talk to her after that. 

That’s perfectly fine with her, though, because Gladion is glancing back in between his own small talk, giving her hidden messages and loaded looks that are far more interesting than the drivel around her. 

By the time desert is cleared away and Lusamine invites everyone into the parlor for a night cap with an acrid smile, Moon is desperate for a chance to grab a tumbler of whiskey and slink off to some corner to recover before trying to make contact with the handler. As she does just that, she glances around the room, at the horrendously minimal décor and the horrendously shallow conversation. Her mind wanders, trying to picture a younger Gladion at one of these functions, being paraded around like Lusamine parades around her daughter now. 

She takes a long drink at the mere thought, wonders what miracle above caused him to turn out as enthralling as he did when this was his childhood. 

“Never thought I’d see a party where you aren’t the center of attention.” 

He’s beside her now, hand grazing her lower back as he holds his own glass of port, giving her a smirk as she leans into the touch because misery loves company. 

“This is a party? I was convinced we were halfway through a wake.” A corner of her lips tugs up when it gets a chuckle out of him, but then she’s sighing as she watches Lillie have to be fawned over like a prized Milotic by a group of women speaking over her. “Your mother keeps terrible company.” 

Gladion hums, following her eyes before looking back down at her. “You didn’t enjoy the _exhilarating_ talk of tax returns and big game hunting?” 

“It was certainly the dullest look into how the other half lives that I’ve ever experienced.” 

“What were you expecting?” 

Moon sighs, leaning further back against the wall and further into his touch (to keep up the married act, she reminds herself). “I don’t know – aren't you bourgeoisie types supposed to get more depraved the richer you are? Where’s the bowl of house keys?” 

A few heads turn with Gladion’s bark of laughter, and she can’t help but smile victoriously when she gets an actual _snort_ out of the ever-composed young man. He forces himself to calm down, sparing a half apologetic glance at the people turning their noses at his outburst. Then he’s leaning down to be closer to her ear, whispering with a smirk, “You’re definitely at the wrong party.” 

“Another glass and I might go full degenerate just to spice things up.” She waggles her brows to drive the point home as she takes another sip of whiskey. 

He shakes his head, not quite able to scowl. “Don’t leave me to clean up the mess.” 

She looks up at him, can hear his breath hitch with how close his face is to hers, and her voice dips into a familiar territory they always find themselves coming back to. 

“No, you’ll be the first one I dirty.” 

For a moment, it’s just them, and Moon thinks about how she wants him to kiss her when no one else is around, when it’s just them and the secrets are peeled back, and he’s thinking the same as– 

“There they are!” 

They glance over, straightening up but not quite separating as Lillie approaches them with the only other person their age in the room beside her. With his dark green ponytail and brilliant smile, he checks every box on the profile they got of their new handler. 

“Selene, Gladion, I’d like you both to meet Hau.” They nod, pretending they don’t already know his name and his status as one of a handful of agents in Alola’s budding intelligence operation. Lillie gives them all a smile, leaning towards Moon to explain, “Gladion was telling me earlier at dinner that you were hoping to get a tour of the islands, and I don’t know anyone better for the job than Hau.” 

Hau grins wide, scratching the back of his neck. “Aw, you didn’t have to make me blush like that, Lillie. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.” 

Moon inclines her head and Gladion shakes his hand, mumbling, “Likewise.” 

Lillie is about to say something else, her hand going to Hau’s arm, when she looks over to her right and stills. Following her gaze reveals that Lusamine is looking right at them, the displeasure clear in how tightly she holds her cocktail glass, and then she’s gesturing for Lillie to come over, turning back to the Aether board members she’s speaking to with a fabricated smile. 

“Duty calls,” Lillie mutters apologetically to the trio. 

Moon raises her glass, seeing the young woman off with a bow of her head. “Bravest of us all.” 

It has the blonde chuckling before she’s walking off, leaving Gladion, Moon, and Hau to their corner as they exchange knowing glances and subtly check if anyone else is watching. 

When he’s sure they’re relatively unnoticed, Hau slides his hands into his pockets, giving the two a wink. “I’d love to plan a little trip, but could we take this conversation somewhere less crowded?” 

“I know a spot.” Gladion leads the way through the crowd, placing his port down on an end table they pass as they make their way out of the room. They head down a short hallway that he knows well, was just in before regrouping with Moon, and he opens the door to a small balcony off the hall. As the other two operatives step out and he closes the door behind them, he explains, “I did a sweep earlier; we’re in the clear.” 

Moon leans against the stone railing, the black silk of her gown shifting as she swirls her tumbler with a smirk. “Now what’s a handler like you doing at a funeral like this?” 

“As the son of a prominent Alolan council member, I’m a bit of a shiny target.” He glances towards the door, adding with a shrug and that brilliant smile that even the night can’t dull, “Besides, Lillie’s always keen to extend the invite, so I took her up on it for once.” 

“Glad to have you.” Moon takes a drink, watching out of the corner of her eye as Gladion strides forward to stand next to her by the railing, arm brushing against hers. 

Hau shakes his head, looking between the two agents as his smile grows. “Honestly, I’m not sure if you even need me, cousin – you two have the married act down, whispering and smiling to yourselves in the corner like that.” 

She can feel Gladion stiffen, bites back a laugh as he clears his throat, voice clipped and desperate to get down to business in the few minutes of privacy they’re afforded here. “Can we focus?” 

“Aye aye, captain.” Moon gives him a salute that’s pure mischief and mockery, and Gladion is about to snap at her when he spots Hau smiling and copying the move. 

He looks at the pair as they share an impish spark in their eyes and internally groans, suddenly feeling like a babysitter. 

* * *

That feeling increases tenfold when he’s forced to half-carry an incredibly drunk Moon back to their guest room around midnight. 

At least she saved it for after the conversation with Hau; that went surprisingly well, with the trio concluding that they need confirmation that Faba has seen the research to say for certain whether it’s in the labs, and then to start looking for employees to target for more information. While Hau can’t provide them much support while in Aether Paradise, he can at least be an excuse for them to get out of Lusamine’s domain on the basis of a tour of Alola, and he promised to work on setting up the extraction. 

This apparently put Moon in such a good mood that she decided a drinking contest was in order, though at least she didn’t fulfill her promise of going full degenerate. 

Gladion pulls out their key, managing to open the door while keeping her upright with a firm hand on her waist. 

“Did you really have to try and drink Faba under the table?” 

Her head rolls up to look at him with a dopey smile. “Not try, since I succeeded.” 

“Still a hollow victory.” He rolls his eyes, leading her in and beginning to wonder just how he’s going to deal with her hangover in the morning (and yet again, he wonders why he didn’t have the foresight to pack some damn ibuprofen). 

She hums, drawing out her vowels. “Maybe.” 

Then her weight leaves his side as she stands on her own, walking in an incredibly straight line to the desk in the corner as she slides off her gloves. “Until he started babbling on about how he uses his Hypno to erase the memory of any employee who comes into contact with the UB files, along with boasting about the work they’ve been doing with the revelation in poison they’ve ‘stumbled upon.’” 

He blinks, watching her remove the bobby pins in her hair with an incredibly sober motor control, his mind reeling with the realization. 

“You weren’t actually drinking.” 

“Chemistry lesson – what happens to a fern when you toss several shots of bourbon on its soil?” She glances over her shoulder at him, smiling as her hair falls from the careful updo to hang around her shoulders. “We’ll find out in the days to come.” 

With a stunned chuckle under his breath, he walks closer to her and finds it impossible to keep the praise out of his tone. “Brilliant.” 

“Flatterer,” she tuts, hiding her pink cheeks by leaning down to take off her heels. 

The room is quiet for a moment as she takes off her jewelry and he goes to hang up his tuxedo jacket, content to get ready for bed until another thought occurs to him halfway. He turns, hanger in his hand as his brows furrow. 

“...why on earth did I carry you all the way back then?” 

She tries to hide her laugh, but the shake of her shoulders gives her away along with the purr in her tone. “Out of the goodness of your heart.” 

He huffs, hanging up his jacket as he strides towards her. “Am I the only one here who recognizes that the world is in danger?” 

“No, but you’re definitely the one who needs to,” she mumbles, finger hooking into his bowtie the moment he’s in reach and yanking him closer to her as she smirks, “Loosen up.” 

“It’d be easier if you didn’t make it your personal mission to aggravate me.” His voice wavers though, losing what little bite it had to begin with only halfway through. 

With a hum, she lets him go, debating for a moment as he unties his bowtie completely. Then she’s turning to the desk as she runs a hand through her hair. “Maybe you’re not the only one who likes to pull pigtails.” 

Her words suck the air out of his lungs, leaving him frozen as blood rushes in his ears. He watches, waits for her to add some other sly comment and make this into a joke, but she remains still, too, waiting along with him. 

He swallows hard and takes a step towards her. 

“Do you ever think about what happened in Wyndon?” 

She looks at him finally, over her shoulder, and he can see that night playing out in her eyes – what started as a simple distraction that quickly morphed into a crash landing of where their trajectory had always been taken them. Months of toying with each other after years of loneliness sliding into the realization that the one person either of them wanted was on the wrong side of an arbitrary, imaginary line in the sand. 

The words nearly get stuck in her throat as she looks at him, realizes that this trajectory is a loop, an eventuality, and she’s grateful for it. 

“All the time.” 

Everything between them is heavy and crackling with the usual sparks, but it’s softer now, domesticated into something that is so dangerously close to their grasp. 

Gladion steels himself for the answer to a question that’s plagued him ever since he woke up to a cold bed. 

“Do you ever wish you’d stayed?” 

Moon turns, looks down at her hands as they close into fists. 

“All the time.” 

She thinks about how she wants him to kiss her when no one else is around, when it’s just them and the secrets are peeled back, and he’s thinking the same as he takes one more step, right behind her like a shadow that won’t let go, content to follow her to every end of the earth even if it’s just for her to lead him to his demise. 

And his breath is on her neck as she tilts her head towards him, letting the crash happen with every intent to see it through to its end this time around. 

“Unzip me?” 

The cool metal of her zipper travels down her spine along with a shiver, and the black silk shimmers as it falls to the floor. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they should really take the time to hang that dress up otherwise it's going to wrinkle


	4. For Our Eyes Only

_Cherry pink: used in Sinnoh espionage to indicate that backup has arrived; in contrast to “carnation pink,” this code refers specifically to civilian assistance_

* * *

When Gladion wakes up, he wakes up alone, eyes widening as he sits up with a start. 

He looks at Moon’s side of the bed, swears it’s still warm but his mind is already flashing back to that chilly autumn morning in Wyndon when the door opens. 

“Morning.” Moon’s smile is sheepish as she closes the door with her elbow, her nightgown and robe clearly thrown on hastily as she walks towards him with bare feet. She holds up two steaming mugs, explaining as she holds one out to him, “I wanted coffee but didn’t want to wake you, so here’s the compromise.” 

Everything about her is so much softer than he’s ever seen before, and he accepts his coffee slowly, not entirely convinced that he’s awake. “Thanks.” 

She sits on the edge of the bed by his legs, focusing on drinking her coffee and looking down at her lap. He does the same, grateful as it helps him to fully wake up to the sounds of ocean waves outside. 

And to remember everything that happened last night. 

The silence is a little strange, almost empty with the lack of quips between them, yet weighed down by the realization that whatever shifted in the air last night is permanent. Moon clicks her tongue to break it, and Gladion looks at her hunched form, finding that he sort of likes this side of her, feels a protective impulse grow in him to reach out and pull her close when she’s this small. 

“Now that you’re slightly caffeinated, how about a tricky question?” 

They lock eyes and he chuckles to himself, deciding now’s a good time for a long sip. “I have a feeling that I know what it is, and I won’t know the answer.” 

She smiles, sitting further on the bed and drawing a leg up, and he can feel it against his own through the blanket, can see the hem of her nightgown riding up. With a tilt of her head and no shortage of humor about this whole mess, she asks simply, “What are we, exactly?” 

“I was right.” 

Her grin is understanding, because she doesn’t have the answer, either. They’re left to finish their coffee, stealing glances at each other as the sky blooms in pinks of early dawn. 

And for a moment, it feels right, feels peaceful, feels like the sort of life he was always meant to have. 

But then he gets to overthinking (as he’s wont to do), and he knows that this will all be over in a week or two, that they’re still on opposite sides, and he’s been through too much to quietly ease into domestic life. Between his childhood and his espionage, he’s not sure if he knows what honest and open communication looks like anymore, if he could ever provide stability to someone else in his life. 

“I don’t think I’d make a good boyfriend.” 

She blinks, lips parting as she stares at him in amused surprise, and only then does he realize he’s said it out loud. He hides his blush by bringing the mug back up to his lips, despite it being empty, and she sits back with a little smirk as she tosses the thought around in her head. 

“You’re a decent fake-husband for what it’s worth.” He rolls his eyes but smiles all the same, and she looks down as she picks at a stray thread on her robe. “And between the crass humor and obsession with poison, I don’t think I’m anyone’s ideal girl.” 

He hums, for once not bothering to hide how his gaze travels up and down her form. “You’d be surprised.” 

Now it’s her turn to blush, but she covers it up well with a laugh and running her hand through her hair as she fixes him with an impish look. 

“Maybe after this is over, you return the favor and sneak me into one of your missions.” 

His eyes widen, and he’s thankful that he’s out of coffee otherwise he surely would’ve choked. “This was your idea?” 

“The original plan was to have me get a position in the labs, but I pointed out the risk and made a strong case for working with you. It probably helped that I dropped Looker’s name.” She gives a shrug to dismiss it, but he can’t quite let go, thinking back on that first debriefing, another reunion in a long line of run-ins and near-misses. 

“You said you weren’t thrilled about it.” 

“I recall – you see I have this dreadful habit of lying.” She leans forward, ostensibly to set her mug down on his nightstand, but her hand is on the mattress right by his hip and her face is inches from his when she purrs, “I don’t know if you’re familiar.” 

He reaches up a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, watching her eyes trace his lips. “I think you’re more truthful than you let on.” 

“I’d like to be,” she whispers, and then she’s kissing him as another layer gets peeled back, as they feel more exposed than they have in years. 

* * *

Aether’s conservation area on the top floor is as beautiful as he remembers it, with vibrant green flora and crystal-clear water taking up the enclosures for Pokémon in the rehabilitation process. Lillie offered to give them a tour when they finally emerged from their room this morning, and even suggested they give their teams a chance to stretch their legs. 

As Moon watches her Decidueye soar above them, Gladion stands next to her, an arm slung around her waist as they lean against the railing with Lillie. His own eyes are trying to catch glimpses of her Gengar and his Porygon, the two delighting in a makeshift game of disappearing and reappearing in various spots, trying to catch each other. In the small makeshift grotto, Moon’s Mareanie explores the water – that Lillie has dutifully cleared of Corsola in preparation – and his Zoroark rests on a warm rock. 

Though he smiles, Gladion can’t help the pit of guilt as he imagines Silvally still in his Pokéball; there hasn’t been much of a chance to get away, not with Moon always at his side and being such a light sleeper. 

For a brief moment last night, when she was just falling asleep against his chest, he considered releasing Silvally in the room. However, revealing that he has a synthesized Beast Killer, an actual chimera of a Pokémon only rumored to exist to an enemy agent would break every protocol of his. 

Then there’s the fact that he still can’t quite trust her, can’t ignore the fact that they both have orders to follow and he has a lifetime of looking over his shoulder. 

Lillie stands next to them, shielding her eyes from the brilliant sun coming through the glass ceiling as she watches the scene before her with a wide smile. “Even your teams seem to get along.” 

“They certainly like my Gengar more than your brother.” 

Moon and Lillie laugh at the scowl he pulls, looking down at the operative as he pulls her just a hair closer to mumble against her ear, “The thing is a menace and I stand by that.” 

She turns and kisses his cheek before he can move away, leaving him to give her a stunned little smile as she leans around him to grin at Lillie. “He’s jealous.” 

This is the most affectionate they’ve been so far, and Moon wonders idly if they’ve both separately come to the conclusion that they need to milk this all for what it’s worth. After all, the clock is ticking on their time here, and it’s only a matter of time before one of them finally gets caught in the crosshairs of the other. 

It’s that thought that woke her this morning, that had her looking down at his peaceful, sleeping face and wondering how much longer she had until KIS sends the word to take him out for good. She couldn’t bear to stay, but it was even harder to leave, and she must have paced a rut into the kitchen floor, gnawing off her lip as she waited for the coffee to brew, alone with her thoughts. 

Thoughts that she can’t let get the best of her now, not when he’s beside her and the world’s fate demands her concentration. Instead, she looks out and sees that her Mareanie has shuffled over to a shallow corner of the water, hunched over something in a far too familiar way. 

“What are you eating?” 

The creature pauses for just a moment, and then she’s back to her eating, this time hurried in a way that has Moon swearing under her breath and not hesitating to climb over the railing in her heels and dress, ignoring Gladion’s noise of surprise and Lillie’s stunned giggle. _“What are you eating?”_

As she storms off towards the grotto, Gladion watches her, leaning his elbows on the railing as he shakes his head, smiling at the ground for a moment. Lillie watches him with a thoughtful hum, then her gaze is going back to where Gengar is making faces at Porygon. 

“I’ve spent so much time being worried about you.” Gladion looks over at her, and she glances up at him out of the corner of her eye with a knowing smile. “But now I see that I shouldn’t have been.” 

He follows her gaze to where Moon is attempting to wrestle something out of Mareanie’s mouth, avoiding the spikes on her tentacles. “She hasn’t been a good influence.” 

Lillie laughs, and he chuckles to himself because she doesn’t know the half of it. She looks up at her brother, eyes growing soft as she tells him with absolute confidence, “Well she’s certainly made you happier than I’ve ever remembered you being.” 

Gladion raises a brow. “That’s a low bar.” 

“Tapus forbid you have a soft spot, but you _are_ allowed to like your wife.” He concedes the point with a hum, and Lillie gives him a playful nudge, tone dripping in mischief as she adds, “After all, how you look at her gives it away.” 

His body freezes, and he’s sure he looks absolutely mortified while staring at Lillie, but his sister isn’t focused on him or the existential crisis she’s sent him on, wondering where the charade ends and the real mess begins; instead, she’s looking out at the enclosure, watching as Moon carefully carries her pouting Mareanie in her arms. 

“She managed to find the one piece of plastic in the enclosure.” It’s hard to tell which of the two is more displeased with the situation, and Gladion snorts at the pout on Moon’s face. She holds out Mareanie to him, who seems to have accepted her fate as he carefully takes the creature, allowing Moon to climb back over the railing as her Decidueye lands next to her. 

Lillie frowns slightly. “Is she all right? We can take her down to the laboratory if you’d like to have her checked out.” 

Gladion nearly opens his mouth to tell her it’s not necessary, remembering when Moon bragged to him that she uses Mareanie’s poison in plenty of her weapons because of her heartiness, but then an idea occurs to him. He can feel Moon having the same realization as he passes Mareanie back to her as she gives Lillie a sheepish smile. “If it’s not too much trouble.” 

“Not at all!” 

They recall their teams, Lillie about to say something else when amongst the flashes of light, a pink sweater approaching them on the walkway catches her eye. 

Wicke gives a quick bow of her head, hands clasped in front of her as she addresses the young woman. “Lusamine is requesting your presence for the board meeting.” 

“Ah, I nearly forgot – thank you, Wicke.” She glances over her shoulder at the two agents, gesturing to them as she explains, “Selene’s Mareanie seems to have gotten into something, though. Would you be able to take them down to the labs for a checkup?” 

For just a moment, there’s something in Wicke’s eyes, something that Moon and Gladion swears is catching onto them, and then it’s gone and she’s turning with a smile. 

“Of course. Right this way.” 

Lillie takes her leave when the elevator stops on the floor below the conservation area, promising to see them again before dinner. Wicke then pulls a key card out of her skirt’s pocket, inserting it above the buttons, waiting until the light turns green and then pushing B2. 

As the elevator descends, Moon keeps Mareanie in her arms. With Gladion standing so close next to her, she can sense his body stiffening, his posture sharper when she glances up at his unreadable expression. With a soft frown, she whispers, “Have you ever been down here?” 

“Once.” The elevator comes to a stop, and he’s sliding his left hand into his pocket as he mutters, “It didn’t end well.” 

That’s the understatement of the century, considering the first and last time he went down to the laboratories in the basement was also the night he discovered his mother experimenting on Type:Null, ignoring the creature’s pain, and he realized then and there that he couldn’t take it anymore. The rest is history, a history he can’t quite bring himself to divulge to Moon. Maybe he will with a little more time (but the question is always what time, considering they’re already on stolen time). 

Wicke brings them to a shut steel door, and she inserts the key card once more, the door sliding open and allowing her to lead them through. 

“As you can see, along with requiring a key card for the elevator to go down to this floor, that same card is used to enter the laboratory.” She waves to an employee who seems to be stationed in the hallway, the young man smiling back as she leads them further down the hall, voice light as she explains, “We also usually have several employees surveying the floor in case of intruders, although we’ve had to reallocate them for Aether Paradise’s anniversary gala this week.” 

Moon and Gladion share a look, because there’s nothing out of place with what she’s said, but there’s just enough that they can suspect. 

The basement is all artificial lighting and steel tiles, steps echoing as the only noise in the space. Employees in sleek hazmat suits walk about, looking nearly alien as they go from one room to another, always quick to shut the door behind them. With Wicke leading the way, it seems no one spares them another glance, and as they turn a corner, she takes a moment to point out a door. 

“And here we have Faba’s office, which he’s also graciously offered as a space to store our research in one place on one server, as well as hard copies. His generosity has also extended towards offering to be the only security in the basement on the night of the gala. Though with the additional security planned for the docks and the curated guest list of donors, that shouldn’t be a problem.” 

Moon raises a brow at Gladion, who only bites his cheek, subtly shrugging because he really has no response to this other than to take mental notes along with his observations. 

Wicke leads them into what seems to be a veterinarian's office, gesturing for Moon to set Mareanie on the examination table. The whole room smells sterile, the harsh overhead light blinding them with how it reflects off of pristine white surfaces. Mareanie releases a small whimper when Moon sets her down, causing her trainer to frown as she carefully strokes the Pokémon to soothe her. Gladion feels his own chest clench, mumbling a few praises to the poor thing as Wicke completes a rudimentary examination for a problem that all three of them know to be an excuse. 

“Well, it seems like Mareanie is just fine thankfully, as our operating room is currently being used for a personal project of Lusamine’s.” 

Gladion nods, watching Wicke put away the few tools she pulled out back into a cabinet. “Thank you, Wicke. For checking up on this troublemaker and the...incredibly informative tour.” 

“I’m just glad to know that others are as invested in the future of the foundation as I am.” She gives them each a pointed look, and then she’s breezing out of the room. “Now, I have some business to attend to, but feel free to look around the floor.” 

As Gladion watches her leave with more questions than answers, Moon strokes Mareanie’s tentacles until she spots something sticking out amongst them, pulling it out with a small gasp that has Gladion bringing his attention back to her. 

Moon holds a key card identical to the one Wicke used between her index and middle finger, smirk turning into a genuine smile. 

“Think she’d be interested in a career with KIS?” 

* * *

They take a tour with Hau the next day, one that conveniently takes them to the relatively abandoned police station on Ula’ula that’s been serving as Alola Intellignce’s headquarters. Moon’s Decidueye ensures that they aren’t followed, and for good measure Gladion has his Zoroark disguise himself as an Aether employee to take the role of the babysitter Lusamine would no doubt otherwise assign to them. 

As they get closer, Gladion realizes how close they are to Po Town, to a part of himself he’s long since abandoned, but it’s not until they’re actually inside the station and Hau introduces them that Gladion realizes of _course_ Officer Nanu is this same Nanu. 

“Don’t I know you from somewhere?” he asks gruffly, sizing Gladion up. 

He bites his cheek, ignoring Hau and Moon’s curious stare. “Not this version of me.” 

Nanu holds his gaze for a moment longer, and then he’s shrugging, brushing past the trio. “Fair enough.” 

Just like that, they’re alone, left to go over the information they’ve all collected into a larger plan, the deadline of the gala in just a few days' time looming over them. Hau gets them set up at a table in the back, and Moon gets the coffee machine going as Gladion rearranges torn scraps of paper and post-it notes. Despite his misgivings, he finds that the other two can focus under pressure, Hau having more or less taken care of their escape while Moon is quick to point out the details he’s missed. 

In just an hour, they have a plan taking shape, ready to be refined and honed in the lead-up to the gala, though no matter how they tilt their heads, it still feels like one last piece is missing. 

On their review of it, Hau finishes by sitting back in his chair with a satisfied grin, arms behind his head. “That should knock them off the trail long enough for me to hide you both on Exeggutor Island.” 

Gladion nods, but when he looks over to Moon standing beside his chair, she’s chewing on a pen as her eyes dart around the table. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“This’ll work – for now.” She sighs, circling her pen in the vague direction of their notes on the basement. “But what’s stopping her from simply going back to the lab once we leave and creating something else?” 

Hau and Gladion exchange a look, the blond faltering for a moment before he mumbles, “The original objective was just to get this research and get out.” 

She shrugs, and there’s a dangerously inviting spark to her eyes when she looks at him with the promise of some much-needed vengeance. “Sure, but some property destruction can’t be avoided, right?” 

Hau sits forward, lips puckering as he looks over the plan once more. “We _could_ rig some sort of explosive, but that’d be risky considering how many civilians will be on the premise.” 

Their eyes remain transfixed on a messy scrawl that reads “Faba’s server,” and then Moon and Gladion’s eyes are locking in understanding, able to predict the thought even before it leaves Moon’s lips. 

“Your Porygon.” 

“If we could buy a little time, it could definitely crash those servers.” Gladion rubs at his temple, already able to picture thee nauseating PR display she’ll be putting up at the gala, that she’s _been_ putting up for years now – no one’s the wiser to what happens behind closed doors at Aether Foundation, and that’s all due to the front she’s so carefully constructed. “But knowing my mother, it wouldn’t take her long to scrounge up the donations needed to get it back up and running.” 

Hau nods, chewing on his cheek. “I think what we’re really looking for here is to destroy her brand, but considering the people at this gala are going to be her biggest fans, so it’d need to come from someone they hold on the same pedestal.” 

“Any ideas?” Gladion mumbles half-heartedly, not actually holding out hope for them to come up with anything. 

Then Hau’s faace is paling and his eyes are widening as he looks behind him, the GDS operative missing it as he remains absorbed in their mess on the table. “Lillie.” 

“We’re not getting my sister involved.” 

Moon tugs at his sleeve, her own gaze trained on the front door as well as she mumbles, “We may not have any choice.” 

Finally Gladion turns in his seat, only to stand a moment later when his heart restarts. 

Lillie stands by the door, Nanu behind her and looking already bored of the situation as he says by way of explanation, “Seemed like this should be a family affair.” 

It’s clear from the look on her face that she’s been told enough, her anger torn between the secrets being kept and the extent that her mother has declined. She takes a step forward and then stops herself, looking at the trio before her and what she can see of the table. 

“That’s why you’re here? To stop our mother?” 

She looks straight through her brother, who only nods, and a fire that has long waited dormant is lit in her eyes. 

“I want in.” 

The final piece clicks into place. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moon has a Mareanie rather than a Toxapex despite the rest of her team being fully evolved because she uses it more with her research / weapon development than for actual battling
> 
> not that this has any bearing but sometimes as a writer you do world building that never actually plays a part in the story and you just wanna take a moment


	5. GoldenLie

_Gold: shortened from “gold mine,” this code was once used by Johto agents to refer to information, objcets, or a person that was a target for extraction during a field operation_

* * *

What little time they have leading up to the gala goes quick, full of secret rendezvous and final casings as they pass the point of no return. 

The morning of the gala rolls in thick and heavy like a fog. Moon rouses from her sleep only to find that Gladion is already awake, dressed and sliding the suitcase back under the bed as he stands. He tells her that he’s going to check on the boat with Hau, and she knows he’s lying but let’s him leave without another word. 

She’s left to wonder if he received similar orders as hers and gets ready for the day in the quiet of morning until Lillie comes to her room to go over equipment that she’ll need for tonight. 

Moon holds up a small, glittering yellow capsule to Lillie’s wide eyes. “And this can fit in your glove – crush it and then quickly blow it towards the crowd in order to create a thick fog that should buy you some time in the getaway.” 

“I see. Thank you.” She’s unable to hold back her smirk as Lillie takes it carefully, placing it in her bag amongst the other bits and bobbles that the operative has been able to spare. It’s clear she’s more than a little overwhelmed as the full reality of what’s going to happen tonight becomes concrete, but to Lillie's credit she's handled the revelation that her mother is planning to destroy the world and her brother has been in espionage for years now relatively gracefully. 

As she closes her bag and steadies her breath, Moon shifts her seat on the edge of the bed, asking gently, “Is your presentation ready?” 

“Hau and I have gone over the timing of it seventeen times.” 

They share a giggle, but it’s small and broken quickly by the somber air. 

Moon manages to cut through the silence first, clearing her throat. “It’s not too late to change your mind.” 

“My mind’s been made up for some time now.” Lillie gives the other young woman a half-hearted smile, and then her eyes are back on the bag on her lap. She fidgets with the clasp, fingers tapping and tugging at the metal as she gnaws on her bottom lip. “I only hope I don’t get in the way of your work.” 

“You’re going to be great.” Moon reaches for her hand, giving it a squeeze as she gives her the most reassuring smile she can muster. 

It seems to calm Lillie’s nerves somewhat, but the silence comes back louder than before. Moon frowns after a moment, unsure why Lillie isn’t making any move to leave and about to ask when she beats her to the punch. 

“So you and my brother aren’t...” 

She shakes her head, biting her cheek to keep from chuckling. “We just both needed an in.” 

Lillie nods, halfway to a snort when she tells the agent, “Well, you certainly had me fooled.” 

“That’s our job.” It’s safer to keep it at that, to stop herself from thinking too deeply into the idea that none of this has been as shallow as it should be. 

“Is it always this elaborate?” 

“Not usually but considering there’s an army of aliens in the basement, it called for something a _little_ more complicated.” Moon falters for a moment, can feel the pang of guilt threatening to course through her before she dutifully tucks it away, just as she’s been trained. Still, she adds with a sigh, “We also try not to get family involved; I’m sorry you got caught up in this.” 

Lillie shakes her head, blonde hair following the movement. “Oh no, I’m rather thankful actually. At least part of the mystery of Gladion’s life is revealed, and this is the best shot I have of finally taking my mother to task.” 

Moon raises a brow, unable to suppress her chuckle. “You two really are too resilient for your own good.” 

“We certainly are, but...” 

The silence begins to stretch, and Lillie’s expression morphs from conviction to uncertainty in just the blink of an eye, leaving Moon to prod, “But?” 

“I want to ask something of you that’s probably a little ridiculous.” 

“I love ridiculous.” 

With a giggle, Lillie manages to look her in the eye, steeling her nerves and adding such a hopeful lilt to her voice that it has Moon’s chest clenching. “Can you promise that no harm will come to him?” 

All the blood in her body runs cold as she remembers Anabel’s private orders. 

_Get the research back to Kanto and out of Kalos’ hands. Any means_ _necessary_ _._

She's not stupid. She knows that Kalos is looking to swipe that research with a similar sense of urgency, that she’s not the only one on this mission given clearance to take someone out if it means securing that paper copy. If it comes down to it – and it may very well – she’ll be in a stand-off with the one person in the world who’s seen every side of her and has still found a way to admire her. 

But she gives Lillie a smile, pushes her voice past the lump in her throat as she tries to tell the truth, as though she may not end up responsible as the destruction of this entire family. 

“I’ll do my best.” 

* * *

Of course, Moon’s hunch is right, and when Gladion leaves Aether Paradise that morning on a ferry to Melemele, managing to find an abandoned cave that Hau pointed out to them earlier in the week, all he can think of is Looker’s last encrypted message to him. 

_Any means necessary._

It’s innocuous enough, but he’s been in GDS long enough to know that it’s essentially code for “be sure to shoot first.” He’d held onto this strange notion, maybe hope, that it wouldn’t come down to this. After all, the research isn’t theirs to begin with, but then that hardly matters when Kalos will always jump at the chance to make sure Kanto goes without. 

He feels slightly better when he ventures deep enough into the cave to let Silvally out of his Pokéball. The chimera ruffles the feathers on his head but knows to keep quiet, letting out only a soft trill that hardly echoes off the walls as Gladion pets his mane. 

As Silvally paws at the ground, sniffing at the air with a happy expression, Gladion sighs, because at least one of them is somewhat happy to be home. 

At least one of them is getting out of this without any new scars. 

They don’t have much time, as the ferry is still waiting to take him back and he’s sure the poor crewmen are under orders to instigate aa search party should he be out of sight for more than half an hour. He walks Silvally on a short path around the cave, and then he’s back in his Pokéball as Gladion takes heavy steps back to the marina. 

When the ferry docks at Aether Paradise once more, he doesn’t even bat an eye at the fact that Lusamine is standing there waiting for him, watching with a blank expression and her Clefable at her side. 

She’s avoided him and Moon, as she more or less promised to, but he figured she’d pop out of the woodwork for something of this scale. Mew knows she never hesitated to scare him straight for these sorts of things when he actually lived here. 

“To what do I owe the honor of this conversation?” he mutters, neither of them missing a beat as they walk towards the elevator together, Clefable separating them as the creature looks between the two. 

“I don’t know what you’re hoping to achieve, but I’m sure you’re planning something.” She hits the button for the ground floor for him, and the floor for her office as well, keeping her eyes forward and staring coolly at the wall as the elevator begins to ascend. “Rest assured, if you take one false step, I’ll be there to stop you.” 

He looks at her, and there’s something off about the whole thing, about how stiff her posture is and how strongly she’s peacocking. 

And his eyes widen as he realizes what this has really been about ever since he grew old enough to speak against her. 

“You’re afraid of me.” 

She sneers down at him, but her fists are clenching tightly. “Don’t be absurd.” 

Clefable, the lie detector she’s always turned on him, twitches at the statement, giving here away with just a flicker of her ears. 

“Nothing’s changed here, not even you.” He faces her head on, notes how she leans back just a hair, and his words are born of clarity and not anger. “Meanwhile, I’ve had to fight for my survival, spent years getting stronger.” 

Lusamine doesn’t move, tries to sneer at him but he sees it for what it truly is: a Yungoos cornered and putting up a final show. “And I’ve built this foundation from the ground up, kept it running on my blood, sweat, and tears – what do you really know about fighting?” 

He smiles, and it’s the smile she’s passed down to him, cold and calculating and not reaching his eyes. 

“I know how to win.” 

The elevator comes to a stop, and her voice is a sharp hiss that has Clefable wincing. “Are you threatening your own mother?” 

“We both know you haven’t been my mother for a very long time.” He steps out, watching as the doors slide closed on a woman who has been crafting her own demise since the day he left, and smiles. 

“I’ll see you at the gala.” 

* * *

Aether Paradise is awash in gold that night, nowhere more so than the largest ballroom. Centerpieces of glittering stars take up the white tables set up, waiters carrying golden platters of delicacies weaving their way expertly around the floor. As elite mingle amongst each other, they clink flutes of champagne in celebration and take glances towards the back of the room, where the stage is set up with a podium and a projection welcomes them. 

At some point Wicke takes the stage to gentle applause, those sitting at tables beginning to listen and watch her introductory presentation, while others linger around the beverages and continue their hushed conversations. 

Hau slides his way through the crowd, no one sparing him a second glance as he makes his way from where the projector has been set up to a trio off in a corner. 

Moon, Gladion, and Lillie glance up at him as he joins them, giving a nod as he says through a smile, “We’re all set.” 

Lillie takes a long drink from her flute, the white taffeta of her gown rustling with the movement. Hau is quick to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze and whispering some final encouragement in her ear. 

Gladion passes off his own drink to Moon, adjusting his cuff links as he mumbles, “Need some air.” She nods once, and turns back to their conversation, not batting an eye as he walks out of the ballroom. 

Several Aether employees stationed around the perimeter of the room, however, follow the movement with their heads. He can feel their stares as he walks out into the hall and towards the bathroom; even without looking, he knows that the one standing behind his mother’s chair at the table in front of the stage is waiting for a cue to alert her. 

A few minutes later, the employee closest to the door to the hall turns and walks down the corridor, stopping at the door to the bathroom and raising her hand to give a knock when the door opens. 

Gladion looks down at her, and with just a raise of his brow she grows sheepish, mumbling something about his presence being missed, and then the pair walks back to the ballroom in silence. 

And when their footsteps have faded entirely, the bathroom door opens again and Gladion steps out, checking that the coast is clear before making his way to the elevator. 

Back in the ballroom, Wicke finishes up her speech with a call for applause for Lusamine’s hard work. The crowd cheers politely, the woman standing from the table to grace them all with a wave before sitting once more, and Lillie makes her way to the stage for her own presentation of the evening. Hau goes to the projector, trading places with the employee he’d sweettalked into letting him do this, and Moon watches it all with a smirk on her lips as she finishes off her champagne and sets it down on the counter to her left. 

She glances over at Gladion, leans up to place a kiss on his cheek and give a quick scratch behind his ear as she whispers, “Keep them busy for me, won’t you?” 

He gives her a smile and then she’s slipping down the hallway, none of the employees paying her any mind because Lusamine is still convinced Selene is just some country bumpkin who forced a shotgun wedding onto her estranged son and not an actual threat (and that works just fine for Moon). 

Gladion can recognize her footsteps in heels by this point and comes out of hiding by the elevator when she’s a few feet away. The silver silk of her dress swishes with every step, nearly as sharp as her impish grin. He pulls out the key card as they both step inside and he taps the button for the basement labs. She pulls up her dress, reaching for one of the Pokéballs strapped to her thigh and releasing her Gengar. 

The creature smiles at her, then gives Gladion a wink before he disappears, the Kalos operative scowling as Moon chuckles. 

When the elevator doors open, he passes off the key card to her, both of them holding on for a moment too long as they keep their eyes locked. Then they give each other a single nod, and he’s heading for the control panel that Lillie pointed out on the blueprints. He also opens his suit jacket to pull out the pistol secretly holstered to his side, just in case, and then he’s looking at his wedding band and waiting. 

Moon walks to the entrance to the laboratories themselves. She pauses, shaking out her arms and cracking her neck, practicing her shocked expression. Then her right earring is blinking at her, and Hau’s voice crackles through it. 

“Turning point.” 

She inserts the key card and watches the doors open fluidly, stepping through quietly in her heels, hunched over and so clearly trying to sneak that it makes her all the more conspicuous. 

It’s no wonder, then, that she gets all of five steps in before a Hypno steps out of the shadows, freezing her in her tracks as Faba purrs from behind, “I’ve been expecting you.” 

Just like she practiced, she gasps, hand flying to her chest as she openly gapes at Faba. “But the labs were supposed to be empty!” 

“You thought wrong.” He preens, puffing out his chest as he walks forward, and she jerks when she feels Hypno grabbing her wrists and binding them together behind her back, the threat of its hypnosis keeping her complacent. Faba grins, stroking the hair on his chin as he mumbles, “And you’ll make an excellent anniversary gift for the president.” 

“You’ll never get away with this.” 

“Oh?” He raises a brow, and she can practically see his ego expanding, has to fight the urge to actively roll her eyes. 

She nods, struggling (but not all that hard) against the rope binding her wrists. “Even if you do, you only have the plans to expand the Beast Killer’s capabilities.” 

Faba’s grin grows wide, and he strikes a pose, about to rehearse from a script he’s clearly practiced in the mirror for weeks now, bursting at the seams to tell someone everything. “Oh, but we’re going to unleash so much _more_ upon the world.” 

Moon internally smirks. _Bingo._

As he begins to pace in front of her, she presses the button on the bottom of her wedding band, and her shadow grows longer before rising up behind Hypno. 

At that moment, on the other side of the basement, Gladion watches a stone on his gold wedding band light up, and he quickly hits the button for the PA system set up throughout Aether Paradise, one that they were able to hack into and set up Moon’s left earring as a microphone for. 

And Faba’s voice booms through the empty hall. 

* * *

“–that’s where all the money you’ve given her over the years has gone, to the taxidermy of the Pokémon she claims to protect, along with unethical experimentation that she’s been conducting for _years._ ” 

Lillie looks out over the crowd, watching as their jaws drop and whispers abound after her presentation, one mean to soothe board members and donors over where their money is going, turned into an expose on the inner workings of the Aether Foundation halfway through. Her last slide is a photo of the trophy room her mother keeps, of poor Pokémon cryogenically frozen in place, eyes wide in terror at their final moments. 

Lusamine stands, eyes wide and body shaking with fury as she looks around the room, finding nothing but fear and disgust directed towards her. 

Her eyes lock with Lillie on stage, and she knows the battle has truly begun when her mother waves her hand, gesturing for the Aether employees to begin slinking towards the stage. 

Hau, meanwhile, has managed to make his way around the room and to the wings of the stage, joining Lillie as Gladion works his way quickly through the room, deftly avoiding Aether employees as he hops up onto the stage. 

The trio are slowly backing up, evaluating their odds as the tension of the ballroom suffocates their lungs. 

And then Faba’s voice is cutting through it. 

“With this latest experiment, we’ve finally made the first of the Ultra Beasts a reality. Then it’s only a matter of converting Aether’s protected sites across Alola into their ideal habitat, and they’ll spread across the globe as we release waves of other specimens.” 

Lusamine frowns, momentarily thrown off, and the other gala attendees hush themselves to listen, equally confused until they spot the PA speakers dotted along the ballroom. 

Moon’s voice joins his, asking delicately, “But won’t that destroy local Pokémon populations?” 

“Of course,” Faba blusters on, Lusamine’s face growing absolutely pale as she can see the last of the loyalty she’s falsely built crumble once and for all, “And once those blemishes are removed, we’ll have a new era of evolved creatures to do our bidding, all thanks to Lusamine.” 

“You were creating a Beast Killer, though.” 

Faba’s laugh echoes around the room. “You really have no mind for business. Of course, our Ultra Beasts aren’t meant to cohabitate with humans, and regular Pokémon are no match. Therefore, we have plans underway to mass produce our Beast Killers and sell them to the highest bidders who are looking to protect themselves from the onslaught. It’s foolproof!” 

Hau can’t help a snort, leaning towards Lillie as he mumbles, “Think anyone’s told him _he’s_ the fool?” 

Lillie laughs nervously, her eyes flickering from the Alola agent to the small crowd of Aether employees just waiting to climb onto the stage as Zoroark transforms back into his original form, crouching in front of the two as she pulls a small yellow capsule out of her glove. Hau clears his throat. “Right, escaping.” 

The tension in the ballroom stretches long and thin and then it snaps all at once, chaos erupting as Lillie blows the powder towards the room to create a thick fog, Hau tugging her towards the back exit as Zoroark follows them out, snapping at anyone who manages to get close to them. 

* * *

Gladion holds the pistol in one hand and walks to the open door of the labs when Faba’s speech is cut off by Moon turning off her earring. 

When he steps inside, he finds Moon crouching over Faba’s unconscious body, the man lying on his stomach as she binds his hands behind his back with rope. Her Gengar stands over the Hypno he no doubt knocked out and entertains himself by attempting to yo-yo the Hypno’s pendulum. 

Moon glances up when she hears his footsteps, standing with a smirk. “There’s the old ball and chain.” 

“Told you they’d prove useful,” he tells her, lifting up his left hand as his wedding band glints in the flourescent lights. She laughs, tilting her head to concede the point without having to say he’s right, and he glances between the two unconscious forms on the ground with a sigh. “I see you didn’t leave any fun for me.” 

She hums, nudging Faba’s side with her heeled foot. “Sorry, but you’re welcome to kick him while he’s down.” 

They freeze when the stark white lights turn red, an alarm going off throughout the foundation that has even Gengar frowning. Gladion’s face falls into a neutral but displeased expression as he mutters, “Doesn’t seem like we have the time.” 

“Shame.” 

Moon watches as he reaches into his holster for a Pokéball, calling forth his Porygon before turning to lock eyes with her and sweep out an arm in a maneuver that’s so gentlemanly it has her chuckling. “Ladies first.” 

She shakes her head, and then they’re running down the hall, sirens blaring to cover their footsteps as the real fun begins. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: and then the "gold" chapter will be like a heist sequence  
> my brain: you don't like writing those, it might take a while  
> me: how long?  
> my brain: anywhere between 2 hours and 2 days, pushing you far behind schedule, and you have no other option  
> me: understandable have a good day


	6. Gala Royale

_Emerald: used by Galar operatives to signal that field agents are ready for extraction; often shortened to “Em” to drop into conversation_

* * *

Despite the chill of the basement, stepping into Faba’s office is equivalent to walking headfirst into Wela Volcano. The sweltering heat coming off of the servers has Moon and Gladion’s fringe sticking to their foreheads. 

When Gladion turns to complain to her, however, Moon’s eyes are instead alight with chaotic wonderment, and he can see the gears in her mind doing double time to figure out how she can do the most damage to everything in the filing cabinets as she can. 

He barely holds back his smile, sending out his Porygon. “Got it?” 

“It’ll take a minute, but yes.” She watches as his Porygon begins going to work on zapping servers, the electricity looking almost like fire with the red alarm light. With a little nod to herself, she walks to the filing cabinets, already certain of her starting point as she throws over her shoulder with an impish grin, “Go wreak whatever havoc you need to for catharsis.” 

With that, he’s running out of the room, sirens blaring around him, and it all feels just a little like the end of the world but he’s smiling maniacally. After all, if this is the end then he might as well enjoy it and make it a good one. 

He retraces an old path buried in his memory, and a few turns later he’s in front of the surgery room – the room where he first discovered Null all those years ago, when he first saw the world for what it really was. 

Just for the hell of it, he kicks the door down, feels his younger self cheer, and then he’s back to business. It’s a bit difficult to scan the room with the deep reed lighting, but it doesn’t take long to spot what he’s looking for. 

A Pokéball sits on a glass pedestal, engraved with ‘BK2’ at the top. He feels his steps slow as he approaches it, reaching out for it only for his hand to stop and hover inches away. It’s sleeker than Silvally’s, clearly having gone through a redesign. His mind flickers to those first few nights, that slow and uphill battle to get Null to trust him after years of mistreatment at the hands of faceless scientists and his own mother. For just a second, he wonders if he can really go through all that again, handle another set of scars on top of the ones that have taken years to heal. 

But this has never been about him, and if it all means that one more creature is free of this prison then that’s more than worth the price. 

As he pockets it, fingers brushing against Silvally’s Pokéball, he notices a tank in the corner, one that wasn’t here when he was a teenager and that was clearly in use up until recently, with the glass door swinging wide open as the panel on the side glows green amongst the red. 

And then Moon’s scream is echoing down the hall and there’s no time to think as he dashes out to find her. 

His heart sinks as he steps into the main hallway, blood running cold as the worst possible scenario manifests in front of him. 

Of course the tank is empty. 

Lusamine wouldn’t pass up the chance to show off the first of her Nihilego. 

Moon’s caught in one of the creature’s tentacles, her feet dangling in the air as it lifts her up by the throat. She’s kicking and clawing at the tentacle around her neck, but it’s clear she’s losing steam. Her Decidueye has been called out, and he’s doing his best to swoop in and scratch at the Nihilego with his talons, but the UB’s head seems to phase in and out to avoid the attacks, nearly invulnerable to any Pokémon. 

If that weren’t a nightmare on its own, the cavalry has arrived, a swarm of Aether employees standing by and waiting for his mother’s command as his Porygon does its best to zap who it can. The shadows are stretching and morphing, so he suspects Gengar is also waiting for his opportunity. 

His mother’s voice brings him back to the moment, to watching her green eyes grow wild as she nearly tears out her hair. “ _Years_ of careful planning, of meticulous research, ruined by a few brats!” 

“It wasn’t even _your_ research to begin with,” he snaps back, unable to help himself because even in her darkest hour, his mother is still too stubborn to let go of the illusion that her master plan wasn’t built on the backs of others. 

“And it was never your place to interfere.” Her attention is on him now, and he sees the last of her restraint snap in her gaze as she lifts a finger to point accusingly at him. “Seize him!” 

A wave of white rushes towards him, along with the blinding light of Pokémon being summoned. He still has his pistol out, but it’s far too dangerous to use with this many Pokémon who could get caught in the crosshairs and a capricious Ultra Beast hanging onto Moon. Luckily for him, Gengar chooses this moment to strike, and Gladion has never been more thankful to see that obnoxious grin. The laughing ghost zigzags through the crowd and leaves a trail of noxious purple smog behind him, knocking out a decent number, though scientists in full hazmat gear and Poison types remain standing. 

Porygon teleports to his side, and he’s trying to think fast but his eyes are on Moon, mind filled with the image of her trying desperately to gasp for air. 

In one of those gasps, she locks eyes with him and just manages to wheeze, “D-Discharge...” 

Her gaze flickers to Porygon and then Nihilego is swinging her away and Gladion’s catching on quick, turning to face his mother with conviction knitting his brows together. 

“Chemistry lesson.” He watches the thick smog take over the room, smirking slightly. “What happens when you run a current through a denser gas?” 

And then his Porygon releases a Discharge that travels along the path Gengar set, managing to zap the rest, including Lusamine, though while her employees stay down or struggle to get up, she’s still standing on shaky legs. 

Silvally’s Pokéball seems to burn through his pocket, and some far-off voice in his head is reminding him that he can’t risk exposing him, not to a Kanto operative. 

But one look at Moon’s pale face growing paler as the Nihilego lifts her higher and he’s calling forth Silvally in a bright flash of light. 

The chimera is clearly confused for a moment, but then he recognizes the basement and hunches, eyes landing on the Nihilego with a growl that has the Ultra Beast turning slowly with a shiver. Lusamine clutches to a metal railing to keep herself up, face twisting in disgust as she looks form Silvally to Gladion. “What on earth did you do to my Type:Null?” 

“The one thing you never thought to – care.” 

He calls for a Multi-Attack and Silvally leaps into the air, slamming into the Nihilego and grounding it as Gladion rushes forward to catch Moon as the tentacle holding her drops. She manages to land on her feet with his help, Gladion stumbling as he struggles to keep them upright, and Silvally slashes at the Nihilego as the Ultra Beast cries out and crumples to the ground. 

Lusamine cries out along with it, stumbling to the creature as Silvally backs away. Gladion, however, keeps his eyes trained on Moon as her chest heaves with the breath nearly stolen from her. She rubs at the red marks and bruises on her throat, and her voice is still a bit of a croak when she looks up at him to mumble through a frown, “Terrible misuse of a ‘chemistry lesson.’” 

His face falls into a deadpan as he helps her steady herself. “That’s the thanks I get?” 

“No, this is.” 

Her smile is all the warning he gets before she’s on her two feet and pulling him down into a kiss. He melts into it, easy with the practice they’ve had and simple with the want they’ve never been able to hide. When he pulls away a moment later, they’re back in the basement laboratory, and their teams are waiting for orders as the siren continues to blare. 

But she’s transferred her smile and breathlessness to him as he whispers, “You’re terribly distracting.” 

“And you’re–” The quip dies on her throat when her Gengar tugs at the back of her gown, pointing at the employees on the floor slowly starting to regain consciousness, stirring as their heads clear from the poison fog. “Right, actually. The research is secured, let’s get to that boat.” 

He gives a nod and follows her lead around the mass of employees, sparing a final glance at where his mother sits on the ground, her back to him, completely still as she looks on at the torn apart Nihilego, the last vestige of the world she was so desperate to create. 

His stomach twists but then he’s moving forward, one foot in front of the other, and running down the hall with Silvally and Decidueye working to clear a path. 

Moon has her eyes on the chimera, steps falling side by side with the Kalos operative as she mumbles with a faraway look in her eyes, “So that’s the Beast Killer.” 

“Evolved.” He glances down at her, remembers one of the three million thoughts he’s had to put on hold in the past ten minutes and adds with a raised brow, “Begs the question of how you knew to ask about him to Faba earlier.” 

Their steps slow as they reach the elevator once more only to find that the second wave is waiting for them, a dozen Aether Foundation employees in white and their partners looking for a fight. 

“Tell you what – we get out of this alive, and I’ll tell you all about it.” Moon straightens, turning along with Gladion so their backs are against each other as her Decidueye lands next to her and prepares an arrow, her Gengar materializing out of her shadow. Gladion’s Silvally stands in front of the duo as his Porygon glitches back into existence next to him, body crackling with electricity. 

“It’s a date.” 

She looks up at him with a smirk. “Always such a gentleman.” 

He returns it, gesturing forward with an arm at the plethora of targets to choose from. “Ladies first.” 

* * *

By the time they get to the docks, Gladion and Moon’s teams are a well-oiled machine that requires little more than a glance shared between thee operatives and a point. What the Pokémon can’t handle is fairly quickly solved with a quick elbow to a neck or knee to a groin (and so many one-liners that both of them lose track of who came up with the best, though they’ll both claim it was themself later). 

As they make a final dash across the dock, they narrowly miss being drenched by a wave capsizing yet another speedboat, Hau’s Primarina giving a triumphant chirp when she manages it. 

From their own boat at the end of the dock, Lillie’s calling orders to Zoroark to keep the handful of employees that have made it this far busy. Hau’s starting up the engine, and as it roars to life, he looks up with a smile, watching the agents running towards him as their Pokémon help Zoroark take care of the last of the Aether goons. 

“Took you long enough!” 

Gladion grimaces as he boards the boat, helping Moon up as they recall their teams. “Had a bit of a run-in.” 

They’re pulling out of the dock then, and Decidueye is taking to the open air – only now does Gladion notice there’s something strapped to the creature’s leg, but then he’s out of view, scouting up ahead over the vast expanse of sea. Primarina keeps pace with their boat, gliding just under the surface of the water and helping ensure that it’s smooth sailing from here on out. 

At least, it would be, if it weren’t for the roar of an engine behind them. 

Lillie is the first to spot it, running to the back of their boat and gripping the railing as her stomach sinks at the sight of her mother’s unmistakable hair glowing in the moonlight. “It would seem that run-in isn’t over.” 

Moon and Gladion join her on either side, the Kanto agent releasing a huff of air as her shoulders sag in annoyance. “Have to hand it to the woman, she doesn’t give up.” 

“How do we feel about risky?” Hau calls from his spot steering, sparing a quick glance behind him to gauge how quickly the Aether boat is catching up to them; unfortunately, the verdict is “incredibly quickly.” Even the waves that Primarina sends their way do little to deter their progress, the employee helming the boat making wild turns and gunning it as Lusamine barks at him to go faster. 

While the Aether siblings exchange a glance, Moon’s already smiling wide, shouting back, “Can’t get enough of it.” 

“Hang on!” 

They do just that, but still nearly go overboard with the madman’s U-turn that Hau pulls off, radically changing their course of direction and throwing Lusamine’s boat off to buy them a few more seconds. 

A few seconds for him to flick the glass case up on a button that Nanu distinctly told him to never push, because, well, something about needing more testing. 

Maybe he should have paid more attention. 

With a press of the green button and a quick change of gears, they’re shooting off impossibly quickly through the night, Gladion letting out a stunned note of laughter as wind rushes past his ears and Moon cackles at the madness of it all. Lillie even joins in, face stretching wide as adrenaline rushes through her system and she hangs on for dear life as Hau finds an outcropping of boulders to maneuver them past, Primiarina helping balance out their hairpin turns to keep from capsizing. 

However, they aren’t the only ones willing to risk it in the final hour, and despite Hau’s best attempts, that white and emerald speedboat comes back into view, bobbing and weaving even more precariously than them through the boulders. They can just hear the man steering shouting that he can’t keep this up, but that’s drowned out by the look in Lusamine’s eyes as the two boats end up side-by side. 

Gladion stares her down, but he can’t find anything left of his mother in her gaze. She’s clutching at the railing of her boat with one hand, stance wide and hulking with furious breath as she slowly raises her right hand. 

The next thirty seconds is a blur. 

He vaguely hears someone scream his name, and then there’s a gunshot and then his mother is gone, boat capsizing and disappearing amongst the boulders as someone else is shouting about unexpected help and blue and red lights are coloring the night. 

Then he blinks, and he’s sitting, holding Moon in his lap as she takes ragged breaths and clutches her side. 

_That shot was for me,_ he realizes, time suddenly inching far too slow as he shakes his head with wide eyes, _She took it but it was supposed to be me._

His throat is tight and he’s torn between squeezing her so tightly and not at all because she’s grunting from pain and he can’t bear to look at the tear in her gown because he knows if he sees the blood he’ll lose the last of the sanity he’s clinging to. 

“Why would you...?” 

“I’m the only one who gets to shoot at you,” she whispers through a pained smirk, but he doesn’t join in her dark chuckle, his body beginning to shake violently with the realization. Still, she looks down at where she’s clutching fabric, and there’s something in her gaze that calms his heart but keeps him confused as she adds with a hum, “Shame about the dress, though.” 

And her hand moves to reveal not a point-blank range injury, but a bullet lodged deeply into a thick black bullet-proof vest. 

She manages a wink despite her bruised rib. “But at least you get to see what’s underneath it.” 

He blinks once, twice, and the boat is coming to a stop as Nanu’s voice reaches them with a shout, but he can’t hear it over the absolute relief of his stunned laugh. 

Gladion drops his head, forehead touching Moon’s as he breathes with absolutely no malice, “You’re terrible.” 

“Is that better or worse than ‘terribly distracting’?” 

Rather than answer he brings his lips to hers as she cups his cheek, both of them finally relaxing as the last of the chaos melts out of the night and they can truly breathe. 

Above them, silhouetted by the full moon, Decidueye circles with the world’s most wanted research paper strapped to his leg. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thus concludes what was, essentially, an incredibly high-stakes case of academic plagiarism (and if we can all pretend it's the 25th or whenever this was supposed to be posted, that'd be great)
> 
> we have a loose end or two to tie up, hopefully I'll have the last chapter done and posted in a day or two


	7. From Alola with Love

_Blank Canvas: a newly coined phrase by the Alola Alliance to refer to a possible new recruit_

* * *

The chaos that occurred at Aether Paradise is far from truly over the next morning, but it certainly all looks nicer bathed in the warm morning sun. 

Gladion walks through the grounds, a strange sense of calm and déjà vu nipping at his heels as Silvally walks by his side. Aether Paradise is quiet, bordering on empty, after Nanu’s reinforcements helped take care of Lusamine and her followers. Evidently, Lillie’s presentation-turned-expose could also serve as the foundation for a legal case, one that she’s more than ready to take on and reclaim the foundation with the help of Wicke. 

It’s also a nice bonus that now Silvally can walk free with Lusamine being kept under lock and key – the chimera is more than happy to be stretching his legs and getting so much fresh air. 

As they walk across Aether Paradise, towards the house, Gladion feels his chest tighten, the taste of his morning coffee going sour. 

The gun harness under his blazer feels like it’s burning through his skin. 

It’s a quick walk to the guest bedroom once he steps inside the house, and Silvally trots at his side, watching as he knocks once before slowly pushing open the door. 

Moon sits on the desk in the corner, flipping through the research paper as her heeled foot bobs in the air to some rhythm. Her Gengar is sitting on top of the back of the chair, feet swinging in a similar fashion to his owner, and he’s the only one of the pair to look at Gladion and Silvally as they enter. He gives his usual wide grin, and then he’s disappearing, leaving Gladion’s face to fall into a deadpan because of _course_ this happens. 

He steps further into the bedroom, Silvally following and beginning to sniff around in an attempt to track Gengar. Gladion slides his hands into his pocket, trying to not grimace when the motion jostles the pistol at his side. With a glance towards the bed, he spots the suitcase trunk Lillie passed off, now locked and waiting. 

“All packed?” 

“Just about.” Moon finally looks up, leaning back and placing the research paper on the desk while keeping her hand on top of it. She pretends to not notice how his eyes track the movement, keeps her voice light, though there’s a tightness to her words when she asks, “Where’s Kalos shipping you off to?” 

“No word on it, though Looker’s coming to give the news personally.” 

She lets out a low whistle, offering up a smirk as she waggles her brows, though it all falls just a little flat with how her fingers flex against the research paper. “Must have really impressed the big men behind the curtain.” 

He hums, and it hangs in the air. “And what about you?” 

“Anabel’s coming to pick me up, but she won’t even give me a hint.” 

They share a lopsided smile, but then his eyes land on the bruises still littering her neck, mind wandering to the bandages that are no doubt wrapped around her chest underneath her dress with a frown. “How are the injuries?” 

“A little ibuprofen and a little time and I’ll be good as new.” She lifts a hand to her neck, fingers just ghosting against the skin as she locks eyes with him, voice dipping into something honeyed. “Though I’m sure you could kiss it better.” 

A short, staccato chuckle falls from his lips, and he keeps his feet planted where they are despite the perpetual pull she has on him. “I don’t think I can anymore.” 

Her smile falters, façade dropping for a moment to reveal the furrow of her brows and the heartbreak in her eyes as the reality of goodbye, perhaps the final goodbye, sets in. Then she’s clearing her throat, and that smirk is back in place to hold him at arm’s reach. “No, I suppose not.” 

The silence is stifling, and they find it’s hard to look at each other; instead, his eyes focus on Silvally, who’s investigating the curtains, and she goes back to the paper with a frown. 

There’s only so long that they can postpone the inevitable, try to outrun the ending that they’ve both been writing, though. 

“What are you reading?” 

She glances up at him and follows his lead in this little dance they’ve set up. They’re always circling each other, and she ignores the twist in her gut at the realization that this is yet another pirouette. Still, she plays her part, giving a sigh as she places the stack of papers in her lap, placing her elbows on her thighs and resting her chin on her hands as she sighs, “The research paper I’ve most regretted being a part of.” 

He nods, gaze going to the floor as he takes a few rambling, slow steps towards her. “You still haven’t told me how you knew about Type:Null.” When he comes to a stop a foot away, he adds with a tilt of his head and a smirk, “And we _did_ survive.” 

It’s a clear stall for time, one that she could more than take advantage of if she just reached under the hem of her skirt for the dart sewn in or whistled for Gengar. 

Instead, she sits back once more, papers weighing heavy in her lap as she dares to look up at the ceiling rather than keep her focus on him. 

“I was supposed to have a normal life at one point.” 

His snort is barely concealed, and she gives him a look that loses its bite as soon as she’s chuckling along with him. “Unlikely but continue.” 

“In my second year of grad school I did a summer abroad. Got accepted onto a project that was perfect for the pharmaceutical degree I was pursuing. And that’s how I ended up at Aether Paradise, part of a research cohort led by Faba.” 

She crosses her legs, meeting his surprised expression with one of amusement. “It’s a wonder he didn’t recognize me, though I suppose I was a lot more...reserved than I am now. At any rate, I was tasked with a thought experiment – if a chimera were ever made, would it be possible to change its type at will, imbuing it with poison?” 

“Type:Null.” He looks over at Silvally, who perks up at the name, looking over to the pair. Moon nods, a ghost of a smile on her face as the chimera slowly walks towards them. 

“It was by far the most interesting work I’d ever done, so of course I went above and beyond. I created a new poison, a topical, slow-absorbing neurotoxin, first of its kind.” Her hand goes to her throat, avoiding the bruises and skimming over the red spots, almost burns, left by the Nihilego. “Never thought it’d be used against me, but at least with a little review it means I was also able to whip up an antidote.” 

Gladion nearly snorts at the memory of her at the hospital last night, of how she barreled her way past medical personnel, clutching at her bruised rib and ranting about incompetency. Of course, being her “husband,” they all turned to him to step in, but he’d only shrugged, knowing better than to try and get in the way of her war path and instead following behind her, helping her find the necessary medication as she started mixing up an antidote with whatever was on hand. 

“Part of me suspected this little thought experiment was far more concrete than they let on, but I was too busy asking ‘how’ to stop and wonder ‘why.’ Then the summer was over, and I finished my degree in Kanto and then, well, my life fell apart no thanks to my brother and I forgot all about it.” 

As she finishes her story, she turns her eyes to Silvally. The Pokémon is still a little skittish around her, but when she holds out her palm, he carefully steps forward to sniff at it, head feathers ruffling in delight when she slowly begins to pet his neck. Gladion watches with a smile. “So you’d never seen the Beast Killer until I first released Silvally?” 

She scratches Silvally’s chin, noting how his tail fin wags as her voice comes dangerously close to crossing over to baby talk. “He strikes me more as a lover than a killer.” 

Quiet settles over the room once more, and Moon grows still as Silvally steps back. She looks over at Gladion, and now her guard drops almost entirely, her smile growing irrevocably sad as she remains hunched forward. 

“You didn’t just come to say goodbye, did you?” 

His stomach turns, his left hand shaking almost as badly as his breath as he reaches into his pocket and feels for the Pokéball resting in it. “There are some people back in Kalos who’d be terribly disappointed if I came back without that research.” 

They hold each other’s stare, daring the other to move first and holding their breath. 

And then a corner of his lips quirks up. 

“Of course, they’ll be disappointed to hear that in the chaos of the getaway, it was destroyed.” 

She slowly smirks back, and her shoulders are relaxing as Gengar reappears in front of the desk. The spies look at the research paper in her lap, and she lifts it, giving Gladion a wink. 

“Not as disappointed as the big wigs in Kanto when I have to tell them the same.” She holds out the packet to Gengar, who happily accepts it, gin widening as it dissolves in his hands. Moon pats his head before turning her attention back to Gladion, giving him a lofty sigh and shrug. “But these things happen.” 

The air is lighter between them, so much so that he walks through it with ease, fingers grazing the Pokéball in his pocket. “I also came because I need to trust you with something.” 

“Really?” Moon raises a brow, feels a thrill run down her spine at the realization that they may still just be circling one another, but it’s a different dance now – one in which they work together before they work for the side they’ve arbitrarily chosen. 

“Considering how much you studied the Beast Killer,” he explains, pulling out the Pokéball and holding it out to her as he comes to a stop in front of her, watching as her eyes widen, “I think it’s only fitting that you’re trusted to raise the second one.” 

Her fingers gently ghost over the engraved “BK,” and then she’s accepting it, lifting it gingerly from his palm as she looks up into his eyes, mere inches from her own as her voice drops to a whisper. “I’ll need plenty of advice from someone who’s done it.” 

His own voice is low and breathy, too, and plenty conspiratorial. “You always seem to know where to find me.” 

She tucks the Pokéball into her pocket and pokes at his chest with a finger, raising a brow and not even bothering to hide how her gaze lingers on his lips. “Remember it’s _your_ turn to come up with a complicated field operation I get roped into, Furfrou.” 

“Just get ready to decode the call to action, little Mismagius.” 

Her chuckle has him smiling, has him leaning down, and she’s angling her face to meet him halfway, breath caught in her lips at the familiarity of the movement. But there’s a new electricity to it, something that crackles and pops between them, has them lingering in the moment just to feel the spark that has their hearts racing. 

They think, for just a moment, that whatever this is might be lo– 

“I think we’re interrupting something.” 

Gladion straightens, cheeks engulfed in a blush as Moon deadpans, turning her annoyed gaze towards the door where she finds the source of the interruption, Hau, standing and smiling. 

However, he isn’t alone, and both operatives are more than a little surprised to find Nanu, Anabel, and Looker standing behind him. For their part, Anabel and Looker seem equally embarrassed to have walked in on whatever was about to happen, however Nanu seems just as bored as always. 

“What’s going on?” Gladion asks, quick to break the silence as Silvally pads over to stand at his side. 

“Well it seems like you two aren’t the only one's keen on a partnership,” Nanu mutters, eyes sliding over to Anabel and Looker as he gives them a knowing (and rather disgruntled) look. “Or you two for that matter.” 

Anabel blinks, gloved hand going to adjust her tie as Looker clears his throat, quick to deflect. “If we could focus on the task at hand, 000.” 

“You two worked well together. So well, in fact, that you’ve been chosen to lead the initiative to turn Alola’s intelligence operation into a coalition of regions.” Anabel gestures behind her, Hau smiling at the acknowledgment as she continues in a clipped tone, “Along with Hau, you’re the leads on our newest task force.” 

Moon smiles wide and Gladion barely suppresses his groan. Hau walks over to them with a skip in his step, placing himself on the other side of Moon and allowing her to place her elbow on his shoulder. The feeling of being a babysitter returns to Gladion tenfold, but it’s quickly forgotten when Looker steps forward to quickly pass a manila folder to him. 

“We’ve compiled a list of recruits for you as well, though you’ll have final say.” 

Keeping one arm on Hau, Moon leans over to place her other elbow on Gladion’s shoulder, doing her best to sneak a look at thee folder when he opens it; just for that, he angles it away, smirking to himself when she scowls at the motion. 

Unfortunately, with Hau looking over, too, it’s impossible to hide his surprise when he opens it to find a profile on his sister. When he looks up, about to question his superiors, he instead catches the downright impish look exchanged between Hau and Moon and quickly snaps, “We’re not getting Lillie involved.” 

Looker clears his throat once more, and Gladion can just pick up on thee sheepishness under the surface with how he can’t quite make eye contact. “I will say, after her performance, your sister is at the top of the list of candidates.” 

Moon leans right into his ear with a smirk. “We’re getting Lillie involved.” 

He groans, Hau laughing as Moon hums in victory before nudging him, getting him to continue flipping through the folder before Nanu interrupts, “Don’t get too distracted with expansion, since we already have an assignment.” 

They look over to him as he crosses his arms, absolutely no inflection entering his voice at any point. “We’ve got an arms dealer with several warrants and bounties on his head who’s been spotted taking a vacation at the Hano Grand Resort. Goes by several aliases I can’t be bothered to remember, but I think you might know him best as Sun.” 

Moon straightens, lips pulling into a tight line. The motion doesn’t go unnoticed by Gladion or Hau, who asks the other two, “Up for it?” 

She thinks for a moment, and then her eyes flicker between the two men she’s leaning on, settling on Gladion with a lopsided smile, a competitive spark lighting her eyes and reigniting their earlier electricity. “I’d love the chance to blow his family drama out of the water with my own reunion.” 

“Don’t hold your breath.” 

Hau watches them, and then realization dawns on his face, smile faltering and falling quickly to be replaced with a gaping mouth. “Wait a minute – is this how you two flirt? Have you been flirting even when you weren’t? This _whole time?”_

Gladion blanches and Moon can’t help but laugh at his expense, the two quickly launching into conflicting answers as Hau has an entire mental crisis play out on his face, thinking back on the events of the week in a brand new and strangely colored light. 

The trio of higher-ranking agents watch them by the door, and Anabel sighs, glancing at her watch before giving Looker a nod and turning to Nanu. “Unfortunately, we have business to attend to, but we trust you can handle the rest.” 

“You shouldn’t.” 

She blinks, and then she’s rolling her eyes, brushing past him along with Looker, the other trio not even noticing their departure as they continue to spiral further into their argument. Nanu watches for a moment longer, snorting to himself and sliding his hands into his pockets, stepping forward. He can already tell this is going to be an absolute debacle, and that’s how he knows this is bound to work, leaving him to smirk as he waits for a lull in their conversation to interrupt. 

“Y’know, they came up with some convoluted name for your operation, but the codename’s all right.” 

The three turn to look at him, Moon still leaning her elbows on their shoulders as Gladion is hunched slightly to be closer to her face and Hau now holds the folder. Nanu smirks. 

“So welcome to your first day on the job, Prism.” 

And it’s the first of many, ever increasingly chaotic, more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments on the last 2 chapters: "oh no, the possible betrayal is coming up :("  
> me, an absolute coward who knew from day 1 that this was all the lead-up to what would actually be a sitcom and not a spy thriller: "ah yes....a real possibility......how will this end"
> 
> anyway thank you to everyone for hanging in there with these late updates and for reading! <3


End file.
